CHAPTER FOURTY EIGHT

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          ERIC NORTHMAN DESPISED THE NEW KING OF LOUISIANA. Especially as he was standing in his office, hands clasped in front of himself. Bill Compton had always been a pain in his ass, but now as he sat behind his desk eyeing him with mock authority and a grin on his face, Eric truly wished he could rip his head off.

"Thank you for coming." chimed Bill, putting down his pen as he looked up at the vampire.

"Of course." he said flatly.

"Sookie told me you bought her house." Bill raised a brow at Eric, leaning back in his chair as he crossed his legs comfortably.

Eric let out an amused huff, nodding his head. "It's Dakota's home, not Sookie's, and yes I indeed bought the house. Which now makes it mine."

Bill didn't seem pleased with the answer as he said, "Any way I can convince you to sell it back to, Sookie?"

"No."

"To me, then?"

"No." Bill kept quiet. "Alright? So we're good."

Eric didn't spare him another glance as he turned on his heel and was about to walk away from the king's office, but Bill stopped him in his tracks. "There's a new coven in town."

"Oh, no. Witches." he rolled his eyes, not bothering to face him.

"Based out of a wicca shop not far from here, called Moongoddess Emporium." continued Bill, ignoring his childish behaviour. 

The viking couldn't care less that there was a wannabe coven of witches in Bon Temps. Witches these days held no harm and he wondered why the king was even bothering with it. Eric was headed for Dakota when he had summoned him and he was annoyed.

"I'll put Pam on it." he waved him off, about to make his exit.

"You will do it yourself." ordered Bill, narrowing his eyes at him. "They're necromancers, Eric."

It took him a second before Eric turned around to look at him, brows furrowed as he processed the news. News he deemed to be impossible. There hadn't been witches that powerful in decades, unless they had been hiding somewhere.

"They brought a bird back from the dead." continued Bill.

"Are you certain of this?"

"I had someone on the inside." nodded Bill, glancing around the room thoughtfully. "I hope I don't have to impress upon you the implication of this."

"You do not." Eric clenched his teeth.

"If they can control the dead they can control us." added Bill.

Eric bit back a rude comment and glared, "I remember the inquisition. I was around back then."

"Excellent." grinned Bill, pleased with himself. "Now deal with this yourself, or is it still beneath you?"

"Has the AVL signed off on this?" Eric shot, mocking the king.

"I am the king of Louisiana!" Bill stood up angrily, slamming his fist against his desk. "I don't have to ask anyone for permission."

"I will go tonight." Eric said, not ridding himself of his tone of voice as he did a theatrical bow to him. "My king."

"Thank you, Sheriff." Bill mimicked his tone as Eric sped off with a chuckle.

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DAKOTA HADN'T BEEN AT FANGTASIA IN A VERY LONG TIME, AND NOTHING HAD CHANGED BESIDES THE PROTESTORS OUTSIDE OF THE BUILDING. Ever since Russell Edgington had killed that news anchor on live television, they had been harassing all vampires.

The woman parked her car in her usual spot, which Eric had market as her own, right beside the front door.

"Fucking, fangbanger!" screamed one, throwing an egg her way and she stepped out of the way without difficulty. "Steve Newlin's right! You devils of the night!"

Dakota shot him a glare and the man's face neutralised as he took a cautious step back. The woman locked her car and made her way toward the entrance, which was closed because of the protestors.

Her head started pounding the moment she entered, loud music and the scent of sweaty humans bodies filled her senses. It was intense and it took her a moment to regain her focus. One of the main reasons she had not been at the place for so long was the fact her senses were so heightened she felt ill from the intensity.

"Stop frowning," drawled Pam as she appeared at her side. "you'll get lines."

"I'm a vampire, remember?" she huffed, giving her a sideways glance. "My skin is perfect."

If Dakota had spared the older woman a second glance, she would have seen the way she smirked down at her. Pam made her way through the crowd and Dakota followed behind her wordlessly.

"Eric isn't here." Pam stated. "He's on his way to you."

"I know." nodded Dakota. "I came for you."

Pam gave the woman one of her rare smiles as she shut the office door behind her and leaned against the desk. Dakota took a seat on the leather couch, smoothing out her dress.

"What can I do for you, Koko?"

"I want my house back. He can't keep coming in uninvited." she crossed her arms over her chest. "I want you to convince him to sign it back over to me."

Pam bit the inside of her cheek, trying to suppress and amused grin. "He's our maker. I won't side with you on this, you know that."

"Worth the try." muttered Dakota, defeated.

Pamela took in the dark circles underneath her eyes and walked around the desk, grabbing a cold bottle of Tru Blood from underneath it. It was for emergencies only, neither she or Eric took any of that stuff.

"You look like shit." she stated, tossing the bottle her way. "No offense."

"You know I can't drink this shit." Dakota caught it easily. "I can survive perfectly well on human food. It's like i'm a hybrid or something."

"You might tolerate everything from your old life." began Pam, standing before her with her hands on her hips. "But you need to adjust to your new one as well. You need to drink, before your body decides it's enough and you go on a killing spree."

Dakota shot her a glare at those last words and felt her heart pick up at the memories that flashed through her mind.

It was utterly excruciating and she could no longer tolerate it. The sun was still burning down on Shreveport, but the sky was slowly darkening. It had been seven weeks of complete darkness and all she wanted was to run outside and burn.

Eric was still downstairs, dead for the day after a long night of trying to force Tru Blood down her throat. Dakota had refused any human he had thrown her way and he was getting desperate. The woman was still able to scoff down her human food without screaming in pain, but he knew she needed blood.

Dakota was pacing around the bar in anger. Her maker would wake up before she'd even reach the door so she had to be smart about it. Seven weeks of hell and no matter how nice Eric was to her, she couldn't do it anymore. The new vampire kept pacing but inched closer and closer toward the backdoor, keeping her heart rate under control as to not alarm him.

There was a loud noise coming from the basement and her eyes widened, throwing herself against the backdoor before he could reach her.

It hurt, a lot. The sun almost burned her eyes from not having been outside for so long. Dakota waited and waited, but nothing happened to her skin and she looked down at herself in awe.

"Fuck, Dakota!"

The door burst open and Eric cried out in pain when the sun touched his exposed skin. Dakota was too busy to admire herself to even notice him shoot back inside, watching her from the shadows.

"What the fuck?" Dakota breathed, in her own little world.

"Dakota," muttered Eric, amazed that a vampire could stand in the sun and not burn.

"I got to get out of here." she stated, speeding off before the viking even had time to process her words and order her back.

Dakota took her words back, this felt amazing and she never wanted anything to change. For the first time since Eric was forced to turn her, she felt as if this could be a good thing. Dakota could still feel the sun on her skin, something she had mourned for weeks, thinking that would never be possible again. 

It didn't take long for her to reach a park, one she hadn't been to before. The birds were chirping, the scent of flowers was overwhelming and she swallowed thickly as a whiff of blood caught her nostrils. God, this was the best thing she had ever smelled, along with her grandmothers mac'n cheese.

Dakota's head shot toward a young man, not older than nineteen as he stood at the edge of the park on his phone, sporting a bloody knee from a fall. The ones Eric brought her never had fresh wounds but now as the scent hit her directly, she had no control.

Her fangs slid from her gums hungrily and before she knew it she was on him. He was screaming, but she didn't notice as she tore through his skin and sucked the blood from his arteries. The only thing on her mind was the taste, and she wanted more of it.

A violent shiver went down her spine and she stopped what she was doing mid sip as Eric's voice boomed through her head like a headache. Dakota dropped the lifeless boy to the ground, unable to stop herself as she sped back toward Fangtasia.

The door burst open as she entered the bar, covered in blood. Eric was about to scream at her before his brows furrowed and he sped toward her, careful not to touch her as he took in the state of her.

"What happened?" his voice was soft, but there was a demand behind it.

She met his eyes briefly before she glanced down at her hands, a shaky breath escaping her mouth as she felt at her chin, which was coated in fresh blood.

"No," she muttered, eyes wide. "no, no."

"Talk to me." Eric tried, taking her wrists in his hands.

"Oh, god." salty tears slid down her cheeks. "I'm so sorry."

Eric wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head as he ran a soothing hand through her hair. Dakota sobbed in his chest, regret washing over her like a tidal wave. It hurt.

"I killed him." she cried.

"Shh," Eric soothed. "it's okay. I got you."

Dakota blinked harshly and shook her head. "I can't. I'm not doing it again. Besides, this tastes horrible."

Pam had to agree with that, Tru Blood did taste awful. Nothing like the real thing. Dakota laid the bottle beside her and got to her feet, trying to forget about her first and last kill. It was one of her worst memories and she had promised herself to never drink from someone again. 

"Eric will kill you if you die." Pam stated.

"I know." she nodded. 

The blonde didn't argue with her as she left the office in a hurry, speeding past the wannabe vampires and slamming the door of her car shut. Dakota ignored the protestors, throwing stuff at her car as she excited the parking lot.

Dakota drove down the highway, which was empty apart from her car. Then again, it was late at night and not many people were comfortable being outside when the sun set due to Russell's actions. Most were afraid that they were going to be slaughtered once they stepped outside in the night.

Her window was rolled down, letting in the crisp evening air and she took in a deep breath. Something on the side of the road caught her eye and she slowed down, squinting to get a better look in the distance.

"What the fuck?"