Falling ch. 3

A/N: Well here is the next chapter. It’s an EPOV. Sorry it took so long, but a certain Viking didn’t want to play nice.

A little extra note for the previous chapter:

“Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” is from a William Congreve play called The Mourning Bride. It usually appears in the form I’ve mention, but the correct quote is actually "Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned" (Perez in Act 3, Scene 2)

Thanks to the delectable lovelies of the Sookieverse for being the awesome women that they are. Txone, my beta and rock – you’re the best!

I don’t own any of the characters from the SVM or True Blood, they all belong to Ms. Harris and HBO.

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Chapter 3

EPOV

She looked so fragile laying there in the hospital bed. She might not have sustained severe injuries, yet it was easy to see how much the whole ordeal had taken its toll on her. Not just the accident, but the events leading up to it as well.

She no longer had the serene sylph-like expression on her face, maybe the amount of vampire blood she had ingested in the past had played a part in those features, but now, now she looked old and weary of life.

I know all about the weariness life can bring. In my 1000 years on this Earth, the only things that gave me any joy and pleasure, were my business, my child Pam, and the tiny little battered-up human laying in the bed before me. My Sookie.

She didn’t look old as in grey and wrinkled. It was her Soul that had grown old over the course of a week, maybe even longer. Her body mirrored that. Her jaw was clenched, her fists the same. Her whole body was ridged. She had lost a lot of weight, which was amplified by the dark circles under her eyes and red eye lids. She must have been crying.

The truth of it all was that she was far from fragile. She was a warrior, much like I was. Any sane normal human would have either run away or died if they had experienced a mere fraction of what she had gone through in her short life, especially the last couple of years. All because we vampires had fucking decided to go public. To what use? But Sookie, she stayed and fought for her own life, for her friends, people she hardly knew, and for people she loved. I was among the creatures in one of those groups. I had to be. I should have staked Compton the second he brought her into my life. Bill had said he would die for her. At this point, I would gladly lay my life down for her if it meant Sookie would go back to being herself, but I wouldn’t do it. I am too selfish in my need to have her in my life to ever let her go.

Sookie was right; I didn’t have the right to call her my Lover. I didn’t deserve such an honour. She was right; she was not mine. She might be my Bonded, but she had not given herself to me freely. I can have anything or anybody in the world; except for the only person I desire most of all. It is not just lust I feel for her. No, that would not suffice. It is an indefinable yearning, rooted deep within the core of my undead Soul. Some might call it love, but that is too weak a definition.

Everybody said I had been cursed by Hallow, but I now see her spell as a blessing. Had it not been for her, I would never have spent those nights with Sookie at her house. I admit I might not have believed her when she first told me we had spent hours worshipping each others’ bodies during that time. I thought she told me that because it was what she thought I wanted to hear. She had never lied to me. She would never lie to me. I forced her to tell me what had happened. I forced her into the Bond, but for her own sake. I didn’t deserve her. But I am too selfish to let her go.

I revelled in the Bond. Truthfully, it is the only thing that has kept me sane during the past few months. Knowing once that retarded pathetic excuse for a monarch, de Castro had left, I would go to her. As much as I pride myself in not having feelings, I would not be able to hide them from her. As far as coming to an understanding between us, well it didn’t fucking matter – I just needed her to know how I felt. She was the first thing I thought of when I woke and the last thing I thought of before I died for the day. Whenever I had a free moment, I would think about her. One day she would be the fucking final death of me.

The memories of our time together would flicker across my mind – it consumed me and I knew she felt it too.

I was not sure exactly how much she could feel through our Bond. I tried to keep my emotions to a minimum, but due to de Castro’s constant bickering, Victor and Sandy’s snooping and surveillance, I had a hard time not being affected by their scrutiny. If it had only been my own fangs on the line, I would have fought the bastard. Fucking being outnumbered, it would have been a glorious final death – Sookie, Pam and the rest of my retinue’s lives depended on me and my actions. No time for pride – I would get my fucking revenge – I’ll enjoy slowly bleeding all of them dry – I would prolong their demise…

She stirred and I was brought out of my contemplations. Had I needed to breathe, I would have gasped for air. She was obviously still in some pain. The frown on her brow when she moved around attested to that.

I sat down on a chair next to her, took her small hand in my large one and gently stroked the back of it with my thumb – trying to sooth her. The difference in the size of our hands was astounding and briefly made me think of her frailty.

She continued to move.

I placed my other hand on her forehead, mimicking the motion of my other thumb, gently massaging her third eye.

I didn’t try to push any reassuring feelings to her through the Bond. Considering what had taken place a week ago, it would not serve a purpose to aggravate her.

Even in her current state she was still the most beautiful creature I had ever laid my eyes on. Not even Freja could compare.

Men have fought countless battles over such beauty. I thought fondly.

I felt her tense up under my touch and her eyes flickered. I put my cheek against her cheek close to her ear.

“Sookie, wake up.” I whispered.

It was barely audible, but I knew she heard me. I pulled my head a little away from her so she could see me.

She slowly opened her eyes. It took some time for her to adjust to the lights in the room. Why had I bothered turning on the lights? I didn’t need them.

“Sookie?”

She finally registered my presence and flinched at the sight of me as if I had slapped her across the face. She pulled her hand from mine, and turned to lie on her side facing away from me. Still in her weakened state she was strong enough to turn from me. She may have acted like a spoiled child in the past, but I loved her wilfulness. What a fucking turn-on it was.

I did not want to push her too much, yet she needed to understand that I would not stand for her fucking insolent behaviour. I made my way to the other side of the bed, kneeling down so I would be more at her level. I brushed a stray lock of hair away from her forehead. This time she didn’t flinch or move. She was immobile. She was shutting me out.

“Look at me Sookie!” I said with a raised demanding voice.

Nothing happened.

“If you insist on acting like a child, the least you can do is listen to me. I do not know what happened to you that night. What set you off? Honestly, it was disturbing and disconcerting. Not even the witch or the fairy knew what happened to put you in such frenzy.”

Still no reaction. So I said the one word I knew would make her break her concentration.

“Lover!”

Her eyes shot open and then narrowed. She was fucking starring daggers at me. I hid a slightly smug expression. Always so fucking wilful. She fucking closed them again and turned onto her other side. I moved to the other side of the bed right along with her.

“I know you called me that night, Lover. I do not need to explain myself to you, but if it helps you see the situation more clearly, then I will. The club was raided by the police the night before. In his infinite paranoia, Felipe wanted us to go to a safe house for the rest of the night and the following day. I left my Blackberry in the office, a big mistake on my part I admit. The next evening, before coming to you, I went to fetch it and walked into the office just as a new waitress answered your call.”

There was not a chance in hell she would believe me, but it was the absolute fucking truth. She still didn’t look at me. Why won’t she look at me? I need her to look at me! Give me anything Sookie. Anything! Burn my face again if that’s what it takes.

I wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her so she would be forced to look at me. No! I would not force her again! Fucking get it together Northman! I mentally pulled myself together.

“Now Lover, I can only assume that you have finally accepted your feelings for me and the Bond, since that is the only reason I can think of why you would react like that. It would be a great pleasure to know you’d finally given in to the Bond.”

I leaned closer to her.

“Were you jealous, Sookie?” I whispered with a raspy voice. You smug idiot Northman!

I sat back for good measure, and took a deep breath – for theatrical effect.

“Somehow, I doubt that is the only reason for your little display. We’ll discuss all of this later. Right now, you need to take my blood so you can heal and get out of this hell hole.”

I sat on the edge of my chair, put my wrist to my mouth and bit. The loud crunching sound from fangs penetrating skin made her shoot up in a crouching position on the bed. She looked horrified, but she was finally looking at me again. She finally spoke.

“Get the hell away from me you bastard!” She shouted.

“You have no right to be here, Northman! In case you haven’t heard or noticed, you aren’t paying for any of this shit! You have no right to be here, you aren’t my next-of-kin, you aren’t my friend and you most certainly are not my lover! You aren’t anything to me! So get the fuck out of here and don’t ever come back!”

She was panting from exhaustion. Her fury had taken everything out of her, but she stood fast. My warrior Queen.

I licked the bite wound to close it and stood to my full height. To my amazement she raised herself off the bed and stood up as well, practically towering over me. She blew me away, but I was not going to bend to her will that easily.

I took an envelope out of my back pocket and held it out to her.

“de Castro decided to pay you the money the state owes you.” I said sounding businesslike.

She just grabbed it and tore it to pieces, not even pausing to look at the amount. Fuck she just tore up $100,000! The girl had guts!

I turned and walked out of the room. I heard I sigh heavily and slump back down on the bed. With vampire speed I was in front of her again and looked straight into her eyes.

“Do not ever think to defy me again. Do not think I will ever give up on you. And do not ever think I will give up on us.”

With the same speed I left.