CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR

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           "THERE'S WEREWOLVES?"

"Yes," confirmed Dakota, as she washed the dishes in the kitchen sink. Her back was to him as she replied with a yawn. 

It was still early in the morning, light had just began to peek through the curtains. Dakota had woken up around five in the morning when she heard a crash downstairs. The woman had smacked him in the balls in the living room, only to see it was Jason who was eating her left over chicken wings while trying to clean up a broken vase he had stumbled into.

"Holy shit," muttered Jason, frowning as he sat at the table with Sookie in disbelief. Sookie had run her mouth the moment she saw him, telling him every single thing that had been going on since Bill went missing. "Bigfoot? Is he real too?"

Dakota gave him a pointed look before shrugging her shoulders. "I don't know. I guess it is possible."

"Santa?" he turned to his sister.

"Jason, focus!" Sookie scolded, handing her cousin her now empty breakfast place and Dakota took it reluctantly, plunging it into the soapy water.

"Okay, sorry." he muttered. "What can I do to help?"

"Nothing," Sookie commented. "Apparently, that's what i'm supposed to do too, which is totally impossible. Every sound I hear, every time the phone rings, every shadow, I think it's Bill. I keep expecting him to come through the door and say, Sookie."

Dakota couldn't help herself and snorted, trying to cover it up my pretending to cough. It was the way Sookie mimicked the vampire that got her to laugh. Her cousin shot her a glare but decided not to comment on it.

"Let me talk to Andy." Jason began, pulling at the strings of his grey hoodie. "I won't tell him the whole werewolf part but maybe there's something he could do to help."

"Andy Bellefleur?" wondered Sookie.

"Yeah," confirmed Jason. "we went through some pretty intense shit together during the whole Maryann thing."

"What kind of shit?" asked Dakota, placing the last plate on the counter before drying her hands on the towel beside her. The blond turned to face her cousins as she rested against the sink, hands resting on the counter behind her.

"Tell us." Sookie urged, trying to get into his head.

"I don't know." he defended. "I don't remember half of it. And don't even think about reading my mind, because I just wanna put all that behind me."

"You've heard about Eggs." stated Sookie. "I helped him remember things. That's why he went after Andy and got himself killed."

"Yeah, that wasn't your fault." muttered Jason, glancing out the window. "Believe me."

"Well, tell that to Tara. I don't think she's ever gonna forgive me. Maybe I deserve that."

"You were just trying to help." disagreed Jason. "It's the thought that counts. And, uh, Tara's tough. She'll get through it. Sookie, you just need some sleep. Let me worry about Bill for a while."

"Thanks, Jason." smiled Sookie, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek before making her way back upstairs.

Dakota watched her disappear and turned back around to put the plates back onto the shelves. Jason took the cutlery and helped her clean up, giving her a light shove as he smiled down at her. "Kota?"

"Yes?"

"Could Santa be real?"

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WHILE SOOKIE WAS SLEEPING THROUGH THE DAY, DAKOTA HAD PULLED UP AT MERLOTTE'S PARKING LOT FOR HER AFTERNOON SHIFT. The woman grimaced when she locked her old car, almost breaking the keys in the lock before she dropped them to the soil.

Not the one I was looking for, but she'll do. Grab her. Knock her out. Be back in time to watch Let's Make a Deal.

Dakota got up, eyes scanning the tree line at the end of the parking lot, on edge. Her breath caught in her throat when she saw him. He had a greasy head of hair, hanging passed his shoulders. He wore a black tank top, covered in stains. The grin on his face was terrifying enough to send a chill down her spine. Her eyes fell on the brand mark on his neck and she furrowed her brows.

"Morning, Kota!" Terry came up behind her, smiling. "You okay?"

"Did you just see someone there?" she asked, eyes drawn back to the spot where the man had been standing.

"No," he shook his head, scratching at his beard. "usually when I see things other people don't, it's because I ain't taking my medication and I -"

Dakota took a few steps toward the tree line, wanting to know where the man had gone. Terry Bellefleur's eyes widened and he took a hold of her bicep, shaking his head. The man made sure she stayed behind him as he led the way toward the forest.

"Look," said Terry, crouching down at the edge of the woods where the man had stood. "motorcycle boot. Size ten."

"Shit," she muttered. "he ran off."

"Well, this is weird." frowned Terry, looking further down toward the overgrown soil. "Tracks end here. Which don't make a lick of sense unless he turned himself into a bird and flew away."

Dakota had wandered further into the trees, eyes on the ground and she heaved a sigh. "Or a wolf."

"Yeah," agreed Terry, coming to her side. "panther or coyote maybe, but I ain't ever seen no wolves in these parts." He fell silent for a moment when he saw the paw prints into the dirt. "Until now. Jesus Christi."

Now there was no reason to go look for the werewolves, they already knew that they were looking for them. Dakota spotted a pair of cowboy boots about six feet away from where she was standing and grabbed them to show Terry. Dakota gathered the jeans too, taking them inside the bar.

"What are you going to do with those?" asked Terry, as Dakota laid them on the kitchen counter. "Won't he come looking for his clothes?"

"I'll bet he'll come looking for more than that." she muttered, going through the pockets of the jeans.

"I'd feel a lot better if you let me call Andy." confessed Terry.

"It's okay, Terry." she smiled, trying to reassure him that everything was going to be al. "I already got someone on it. Listen, you can't tell anyone about this. Promise me?"

"I'm not so good with secrets." he said, rubbing the back of his head.

"I think you're a lot better at things than you give yourself credit for." Dakota smiled.

Arlene stalked into the kitchen, arms full of boxes and an angry look on her face. "I've been hollering for help for ten minutes."

"I'm sorry, darling." Terry apologised, going over to help her with the boxes like the good man he was. "I didn't hear you. Let me get that."

"No!" refused Arlene, hormones getting the better of her she put them down on the counter behind them and storming from the room again. "I can do that all by myself. Just like I do everything else."

Terry heaved a sigh, closing his eyes in frustration before he peered at Dakota. "Would you mind telling Arlene how good I am at things and all."

"Sure," she nodded, about to make her way out of the kitchen. "but if you want my advice, tell her yourself."

"Dakota, hold up." he began, grabbing an old tin from the shelves. He took out a small revolver from it and handed it to her. "You know how to use one of these?"

"Thanks, Terry." she smiled.

"I've always liked you." he confessed. "And I would miss you if you got killed."

Dakota felt her heart shatter and she reached up to plant a kiss on his cheek, before thanking him again and leaving him alone in the kitchen.

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WEREWOLVES DIDN'T NEED TO BE INVITED INTO A HOME TO ENTER, THEY COULD JUST WALTZ IN WHENEVER THEY PLEASED, NIGHT OR DAY. Which is why Dakota wasn't able to go to bed as she sat on the sofa in her living room, revolver in her hands. She was alone, again. Sookie had gone to Jessica an hour prior, going back to the spot where they had found the dead man.

Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to stay at home alone, but Dakota wasn't going to let anything happen.

The gun was cold in her hands, and she hated the feel of it. Even though she knew how to use it, she'd rather not, it made her uneasy. It had been dark for less than two hours and there was a creak near the front door. Dakota got up, holding the gun in front of her incase she had to shoot someone.

"Jesus," she cried as the front door burst open and Eric strode in, ripping the gun from her grip before she even had the chance to do anything about the intruder. "you scared the shit out of me."

"They came for you." was all he said as he searched her face, holding both cheeks between his cold hands.

"Just one," she confessed, nodding. "this afternoon. He took off before I could get anything out of him. I heard his thoughts, he wasn't looking for me but he was going to take me anyways until Terry showed up."

"This is worse than I thought." he muttered, glancing around the room. "I lied to you."

"What do you mean?" she uttered.

"Me and Godric posed as the SS during the second world war." he sighed, taking a seat on the couch, pulling her down with him and she turned to face him. "We did whatever we needed to do to help in our search of them."

"Were you hunting the nazi werewolves?"

"The symbol is runic." he corrected her. "This, uh, pack dates back a lot farther than the nazi party. They are much more than that. These are not ordinary werewolves. They're organized, well-funded, highly trained, and fuelled by vampire blood."

"Why didn't you tell me this last night?"

"The bigger question is why am I risking everything to tell you now?" he said, eyes raking over her face once more. "My loyalty is not to Bill or Sookie. In fact, it would be advantageous for me in numerous ways if he were never found. But ... now they're coming for you and I can't let that happen."

Dakota didn't know what to say to him, she had that a lot. "What do you mean, risking everything to tell me?"

"The goal tonight was to keep you out of danger, not put you in more of it." he declared, not meeting her eyes as he got up from the couch.

"Are you leaving?" she panicked, feeling much safer with him there.

"No," he shook his head, turning to glance at her. "i'm staying so I can protect you. Or have passionate primal sex with you. How about both?"

"Nasty talk is not doing it for me, Eric." she snapped, narrowing her eyes.

"Oh, sweetheart." he grinned, moving his gaze to the way her legs were pressed together. "I think it already has."

He could smell her arousal and he was satisfied with the fact it was because of him, so he leaned down, hands resting behind her on the couch as he trapped her between his arms. Dakota couldn't look away from his bright blue eyes, too emerged by his gaze to even form a response.

The blond didn't protest when his lips moved down her jaw and toward her throat. Dakota wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer and she moved her head to the side to give him more access to her skin. Eric's fangs dropped from his gums and she felt the sharpness of them scratch over her neck.

"The thing's i'd do to get a taste." he murmured, holding himself back from breaking the skin just below her jaw at her pulse. "You smell like heaven."

Dakota let out a soft moan at his words, hands tugging at his shirt, wanting to get rid of the piece of clothing. Eric chuckled, pulling back momentarily to pull at his black shirt. Dakota's hand roamed down his chest, feeling the cold skin beneath her fingertips.

The blond let out a squeal when the viking picked her up and got her to straddle him on the couch. Dakota initiated the kiss, brushing her lips over his before pressing them to him. Eric hummed, grabbing the back of her head and wrapping his fingers in her hair.

Dakota couldn't explain it, but kissing Eric felt like she was high on shrooms. Something she had done once many years ago with Lafayette, and it was one of the best feeling, a feeling she didn't want to end. She hadn't even noticed when Eric had ripped open her shirt, throwing the torn fabric somewhere in the room, revealing her maroon bra.

His hands moved to the back of her thighs and he pressed her down onto his hips a bit harder, to which she let out a shaky breath.

"Eric -" she began, but her back was now pressed on the couch and the coldness of his body had disappeared. Dakota sat up, confused as she looked at his bare back as he stood beside the chair, glancing toward the kitchen. "what is it?"

There was a low growl coming from the dark hallway and she reached for the gun on the table beside her, out of breath still and the wolf took a sprint toward the vampire.

A loud gunshot echoed throughout the house, followed by silence.