CHAPTER SIXTY FIVE

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          DAKOTA DIDN'T THINK SHE COULD MUSTER SUCH ANGER TOWARDS SOMEONE SHE LOVED. It wasn't in her nature. It never had been. Right now it felt as if she wasn't even physically standing there anymore and all noise surrounding her ebbed away as she glared at the viking. The world had sunk away from beneath her feet. 

"Russell Edgington, alive?" scoffed a vampire from the authority, seated at the table. "What an epic fucking disaster!"

Eric would not meet her gaze at all, he couldn't muster the courage as he did not want to see the look on her face anymore. Dakota pursed her lips and slowly nodded her head as she kissed her teeth in disgust. She did not care if the authority would obliterate them and herself. She didn't care about anything at the moment.

"Let me deal with these traitors, guardian," the man said, rising slowly. "They will beg for the true death."

"Shouldn't we at least consider their proposal?" another voice interjected that gained their attention.

"Since when do we negotiate with apostates?" a child snapped angrily.

Salome glanced at them with a smile and suggested, "If they think they can smoke out Russell Edgington, why not let them try?"

"The odds are they won't survive the fight."

"And what kind of precedent does that set, rewarding these traitors for what exactly?" 

Murmurs of agreement rippled through the vampires. Dakota kept her head high, standing off to the side with a stoic expression as she stared at the wall. Russell Edgington was the reason she was the way she was. He had killed her, and Eric had promised that he was taken care of. She had assumed that meant dead.

That's what she had believed all this time. It was what he had allowed her to believe.

"Not following orders in the first place," argued Rosalyn. "We cannot condone such blatant insubordination!"

"Rosalyn," Kibwe shot, "you'd sentence your own maker to the true death if it served your political agenda."

"My maker was a pioneer! A true mainstreamer, unlike some people—"

"Chancellors!" Roman's shout cut through the arguments as he stood before Eric and Bill, holding a stake. "Thank you for your input. Rest assured, I will consider it. Blessed be the blood."

The chancellors echoed his last words with a small bow and got to their feet before scurrying out of the room. Roman took hold of Salome's hand and stopped her from doing the same and shook his head. 

"The Sanguinistas," Roman began, circling the table, "have turned Russell Edgington into some sort of hero for ripping out a man's spine on TV. He has become their poster boy for the anti-mainstream movement... their Osama bin Laden. Do you know what's more dangerous than a martyr? A three-thousand-year-old vampire who hasn't fed in over a year. Suffering does not kill the appetite for power. It exacerbates it."

Roman stopped in front of the two kneeling men. "I've dedicated my guardianship to the fight for coexistence, and I won't let it crumble because of one ancient, enraged psychopath. Do you understand what i'm saying?"

"Absolutely, guardian." breathed Eric, staring up at him. 

"We'll bring him in," agreed Bill. "or die trying."

Roman's gaze hardened as he flicked his fingers. Three vampires rushed into the room and seized the prisoners. Dakota didn't flinch as one grabbed her arm and dragged her along. She passed by Bill and Eric, deliberately avoiding the Viking's gaze.

She could hear the sounds of them being escorted away, her heart racing in her chest as the walls seemed to close in. But she remained silent as she too, was being led from the room.

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          THE JOURNEY FROM WHEREVER IT WAS THEY WERE HELD BACK TO SHREVEPORT PROVED TO BE UTTER HELL FOR DAKOTA. They had been tasked with finding Russell and bringing him back to the Authority but unlike the two vampires with her, she did not have an i-stake strapped to her chest as they thought she was still human.

If they failed to find the three-thousand-year-old vampire or if he decided to escape, Eric and Bill would face the true death before they could even think of fleeing. But Dakota? They had no leverage over her beyond threats of ripping her limb from limb if she attempted anything. Maybe they were secretly eager to be rid of her.

What made it even worse was that she was now trapped in a vehicle with the two of them after being dropped off on the outskirts of Shreveport in the dead of night. Dakota sat in the backseat, arms crossed over her chest, as Bill drove.

"We don't have many leads on who might have broken Russell out," Bill said, steering the car along a dirt path toward the main road.

"Only four of us knew where he was," Eric agreed, glancing at his progeny through the rearview mirror.

The woman scoffed and gave a shake of her head. She still hadn't said a word to the viking and what she really wanted to do was smash his beautiful face through the windshield. No, she wanted to tear his eyes out and then smash his face through the windshield. 

"Where to first?" questioned Bill.

"Let's give Pam a visit."

The blonde knew Eric had not meant harm in concealing this from her but he had no right to do so. Dakota could feel his need to talk with her through the bond they shared but she just couldn't listen to whatever it was he had to say at this moment. Dakota knew betrayal, experienced it before, but this was worse coming from someone she loved and trusted.

She longed to see Pam but perhaps she was just as angry at the vampire for keeping such a thing from her then she was at him. Though, she wondered if the viking had commanded her to keep her mouth shut.

It took them twenty minutes for them to reach Fangtasia and Dakota ignored everyone inside once they got there, sitting down at the bar with her arms crossed over her chest as Eric ordered everyone, including Ginger, to leave for the night. 

The dim, red lighting of the vampire bar casted shadows over her and the silence once everyone left was almost deafening. Dakota remained seated, gaze fixed ahead as they waited for Pamela to get back from wherever she was. 

Eric approached her cautiously, his expression a mix of concern and frustration. "Dakota, we need to talk."

The woman didn't look at him, her jaw clenched tightly. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Don't be like this -"

"Like what?" she retorted with a roll of her eyes. "You want to talk about the fact that you've lied to me? That you've hidden this from for the past year? After what he has done to me?"

Eric's face tightened, but he kept his voice calm. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I thought I was protecting you."

Dakota laughed bitterly. "Protecting me? By lying to me? By keeping me out of the loop? You've done a great job."

Bill grimaced and pretended to be doing something else on the other side of the bar. The viking took a deep breath and clenched his jaw together as well. "I know I messed up, Dakota. And I am truly sorry -"

He was interrupted when the door opened and Pam's voice rang through Fangtasia in a snarl. "Ginger! We're open till four, bleach-bucket! Where is everyone?"

"I send them all home." Eric pushed off the bar as he watched his progeny enter the premises, Tara, covered in blood, behind her. 

"Oh my god." she breathed, eyes wide as she took in her maker before her eyes snapped towards Dakota in worry. "Sookie, you fucking did it."

Dakota blinked, her mouth slightly agape as her eyes met Tara's. The shock froze her in place for a moment before she quickly averted her gaze and followed Pam, who was striding purposefully toward Eric in a black and purple latex dress.

"Well," Pam began, her voice light and nonchalant, "no need for apologies, right? I'm not exactly holding my breath for one. Barely even remember what we fought about. Let bygones be bygones, bi-girls be bi-girls and—oh."

She stopped mid-sentence as Bill stepped into view, catching her off guard.

Eric's eyes shifted calmly toward Tara. "Why is she here?" 

"Uh—she's mine," Pam replied, her words tinged with uncertainty as if even she was still adjusting to the reality. "I made her vampire while you were gone. Congrats, you're a grandfather."

"What the fuck," Dakota muttered under her breath, her glare sharp and filled with disbelief. Pam shot her a glare of her own, her expression just as fierce, the tension between them thickening the air.

Eric clicked his tongue, the sound sharp in the thick silence, before shifting his gaze toward Bill. "Would you mind?" he asked, his voice low but firm.

Bill nodded in response, his expression unreadable as he turned toward Tara. "Join me, will you?" he said, gesturing toward the backroom.

Tara hesitated for a moment, glancing between Pam and Eric, but followed Bill without a word. The tension in the room thickened as the two of them disappeared behind the door.

Pam, still standing behind the bar, furrowed her brows and looked between Eric and Dakota, confusion clouding her usual bratty personality. "What's going on? What happened?" she asked, her voice laced with concern.

Eric's expression hardened as he met Pam's gaze. "Russell Edgington is out," he said bluntly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.

Pam's eyes widened slightly, the weight of his words hitting her like a blow. "What?" she breathed, her confusion turning to alarm. "How?"

"We don't know yet," Eric replied, his voice clipped, as if the words tasted bitter on his tongue. His gaze flickered toward Dakota, who stood silently, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. The unspoken tension between them simmered beneath the surface.

Pam's eyes darted between them, her concern deepening. "And you think I had something to do with this?" she asked, her voice tight, a mixture of hurt and disbelief evident in her tone.

"Did you?" he glared as he pushed off the bar.

"No!" she denied. "Why would you ever think i'd do that?"

There was a sudden screech and Dakota blinked, stumbling out of the way when Eric grabbed the blonde vampire by her neck and slammed her onto the bar top with a snarl. His fangs were out and he was right in her face, furious. 

"Stop fucking lying!"

"I'm not lying," she whimpered, hands clasped around the old wood and denting it from the force of it. "I swear. I don't know where Russell is."

"Eric," warned Dakota.

The Viking narrowed his eyes, his grip loosening as he withdrew his hand from Pam's throat. He pushed himself away from his progeny, his fangs retracting back into his gums as he turned his back on both of them, his anger barely contained. 

Dakota, still tense, extended a hand to Pam, who was half-shaken from the encounter. With a steady grip, she helped Pam rise from where she had been pressed against the bar, pulling her back onto her high-heeled feet.

"What happened to you?" cried Pam, blood streaming down her face. "A century together and never once have I ever done anything to hurt you, to hurt us. How could you think I would go and dig up Russell Edgington? After all he did? You're my maker, Eric. And I would die for you, gladly, a thousand times before I would ever betray you."

"Well, you'd be a fool." he grunted. "I trust no one. You shouldn't either."

"If I mean so little to you," she sniffed. "then why keep me around?" Eric turned around at that and met her gaze. "If you can't trust me more than Bill Compton, or a - a werewolf for christ's sake. Then release me and get it over with."

Dakota watched the scene unfold in front of her, utterly miserable and unable to do anything about it. Eric was being an idiot and Pam was emotional, she knew better than to intervene.

"Just say the words ..." she continued. "'As your maker, I release you.' Say it and we're done."

The viking blinked at her and clenched his jaw, eyes swimming with unspoken words but he never replied to her. He didn't spare either of them another glance before he made his way to where Bill and Tara had disappeared to.

"I hate my fucking life." cried Pam and Dakota couldn't help but agree.

long long long time no see. if i'm being honest i lost interest in this story but i am going to try and finish it! i don't like to leave stories unfinished. maybe it's the fact i didn't really care for this season and i just don't know how to write it but i'll try.