CHAPTER FOURTY NINE

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          HE WASN'T WEARING ANYTHING FROM THE WAIST UP, SKIN CAKED WITH MUD AS IF HE HAD BEEN RUNNING THROUGH THE FOREST FOR HOURS. He was ambling on the side of the road, seemingly in a trance and the blonde stepped on her breaks, letting the car slowly glide beside him.

"Eric?" she called, frown appearing on her face.

The viking stopped in his tracks, slowly glancing in her direction somewhat hazily. His hair was a mess, there was some dried blood on his chest. He wasn't wearing any shoes, standing in the soil with his bare feet as if he didn't care.

"Eric?" she tried again when he turned away from her and kept walking aimlessly. "Eric!"

He stopped again, facing her and the only way she could describe him was as if he was a lost child. "Who are you?"

"It's me, Dakota." she said, confused.

"Who?" he frowned.

"You know me." she stated, eyes roaming over his frame for a moment before meeting his blue eyes once more. 

"No," he breathed. "no, I don't."

Dakota was confused and she didn't know if he was fucking with her or not, but her gut told her that there was something seriously wrong with her maker. As Eric was about to walk away again, he caught a whiff of her scent and stopped, head turning towards her. The faerie blood still ran through her veins strongly.

"Why do you smell so good?"

"You know perfectly well why I smell the way I smell."

Eric took a step toward the car, eyes a little bit distant as he took another whiff, fangs dropping from his gums. "Like wheat, and honey ... and sunlight."

"Eric, I am not in the mood." she tried, glaring up at him. 

"What are you?" he blatantly ignored her.

"Not this shit again." she muttered, stepping from the car and gasping when she stood face to face with him, noses almost touching. "Step back."

"Just a taste." he muttered, eyes on her throat.

Dakota pushed at his chest and he was surprised by her strength, stumbling backwards. Eric grinned at this, staring down at her and pushing her against the car with his own strenght. Dakota was trapped between her car and his arms, and he was incredibly close.

"Come on," he mumbled, brushing a strand of hair from her throat. "just one?"

"I said no." she narrowed her eyes. "What is going on with you? It isn't funny."

Eric didn't even acknowledge her words as he leaned down, but clutched his nose when her fist connected with it. Blood trickled down his lips and he frowned at her, but took a small step back to put some distance between them.

"I am not your fuckin' dinner!"

"What'd you do that for?" he seemed genuinely hurt at her actions. "You broke my nose."

"Oh, please." she rolled her eyes. "It'll heal in five minutes. You're a vampire."

"I know i'm a vampire, Dakota!" he towered over her. "I know what I am ... I just don't know who I am."

Dakota crossed her arms over her chest, and if she was honest she was starting to get a bit worried. The viking looked so lost and she had never seen him like that. Eric held himself well, was always one step ahead of everyone but this Eric, he almost seemed like a child. "Okay, what is the last thing you remember?"

"I don't know." he expressed, shaking his head. "I don't know. The sea, maybe. Home."

Eric began to mumble in Swedish, distant look on his face and now she was definitely worried as she realised he actually couldn't remember a single thing. Her eyes moved over his face as he stared at the ground, words she couldn't understand spilling from his mouth.

"Eric, focus." she snapped her fingers. He peered at her, more words escaping him but this time in a language she had never heard before. "English, please."

"Her eyes." he stated, looking alarmed. "Her cold, empty eyes. They were reaching into me. Emptying me. And it was her, but it wasn't her! She was in a ... in a circle, chanting. And, uh, everything I was was taken from me."

Dakota felt unease wash over her and slowly nodded her head. "Okay, we'll figure it out. But there is a rule that you cannot break. You do not bite me under any circumstances."

"I swear it." he said.

The woman shot him a small smile. "Good. Come, let's get you washed up."

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"I'M HOPING I MIGHT BE ABLE TO FIND A PAIR OF JASON'S OLD WORK BOOTS." said Dakota as she opened the front door to her home. Eric was behind her, blanket wrapped around his shoulders as he followed her up the porch. "They'll probably be too small for you, but..."

Dakota entered her home, making a bee line for the stairs to fetch him some fresh clothes when she noticed he wasn't behind her anymore. Eric stood in the door opening, looking around the home hesitantly as if something was holding him back.

"It's okay, you can come in. It's your -" her words fell silent as she thought about it for a second. The viking blinked up at her and she continued. "As it is your first time in my house, obviously, you need an invitation. Eric, won't you please come in?"

The vampire gave her a soft smile as he stepped over the threshold, muddy feet on the hardwood floors. 

"Don't step on the rug!" she called, and he hovered his foot over the material for a moment before placing it back on the wood below him. 

"Oh," he startled. "sorry."

"It's okay." Dakota smiled, cocking her head to the side slightly. "Why don't you sit down in the living room and i'll get some stuff to get you cleaned up."

Eric nodded up at her with wide blue eyes and slowly disappeared into the living room. Dakota went up the steps and began to rummage through the hallway closet where some of Jason's boxes still resided. There she found one of his old high school football shirt, which evidently would be too small for him but it was all she had.

Dakota got a few more items before making her way back down the stairs and dropping them onto the table as she entered the kitchen, filling up a wide bucket with warm soapy water for his feet. While the water was running she dialled Pam's number.

"Yes, Koko?" she drawled, a bit annoyed.

"Eric is here." she stated, grabbing a wash clot from the cabinet.

"So?" Dakota could practically see her eye roll. "It's his house."

"He doesn't seem to remember that." Dakota stated. "Or much else."

The line went dead after that and she knew Pam was coming their way. When Dakota entered the living room, Eric was seated on the couch, waiting patiently for her with the blanket still wrapped around his upper body.

"Here," she said, crouching down in front of him and putting the bucket down. "put your feet in."

Eric did as he was told and smiled at the warmth of the water. Dakota put the cloth in the water and rinsed it out before scrubbing at the mud caked on his ankles. He let out a soft noise and her eyes met his for a moment before she continued. 

The water was already cooling and she grimaced. "Sorry, it's already getting cold."

"Doesn't bother me." he smiled, letting her take care of him. 

Dakota grabbed his foot underneath the water to clean the rest of the mud and Eric pulled it away with a giggle. The woman met his eyes again in amusement.

"It, it tickles." he shrugged.

The blonde tried to hide her smile as she continued and she didn't miss the way his chuckling died down as he leaned forwards toward her. Dakota stopped to look at him expectantly, foot sliding from her grip.

"You are really beautiful." he confessed, eyes roaming her face.

"Thank you." she smiled, and even though he had said it before it still caused her cheeks to heat up.

Dakota jumped when her front door slammed open loudly, the water in the bucket splashed onto her floor when she bumped into it. Pam stood in the living room, staring intently at their maker.

"Who the fuck is she?" demanded Eric, using his vampire speed to stand in front of Dakota.

"Fuck," cussed Pam, dried blood crusting at her chin.

"Sorry," Eric apologised, peering down at Dakota. "Sorry, that was rude. I'm sorry."

"What do you know about what happened to you?" Pam panicked as she directed her question at the viking. When he didn't say a word she turned to the shorter girl. "You have to hide him. He is in danger."

"What on earth is going on?" demanded Dakota, getting more worried by the second.

"Witches did this to him." Pam explained, glancing at her maker with fear.

"Seriously? Witches?"

"Yes," she said. "and he is in serious danger. Fangtasia will be the first place they'll look. This is his house and he has a cubby here, he'll be safe."

"Uh, it's my house?" Eric stared up at them as he sat back down.

Dakota shot him a look as she turned back to Pam. "Of course i'll keep him here, but shouldn't we notify the king of this?"

The blonde gasped as Pam sped toward her with a glare. "Tell Bill about this and I will hurt you."

Dakota rarely got threatened by Pamela and when she did, she never took it to heart. Pam was scared for Eric and she couldn't blame her. The vampire let out a screech when Eric's hand shot out to throw her across the room, and she fell to the floor in the hallway.

Pam's eye twitched in anger as she got back up, adjusting her dress and stalking back into the living room with a glare on her face.

"Be nice to her." said Eric pointedly.

Pam shot him a fake smile. "Dakota, I believe Bill set Eric up, and send him into the coven in Shreveport knowing it was a trap. It wouldn't be the first time he tried to get rid of Eric."

"Fuck," she muttered. "what are we going to do?"

"Just keep him here for now." Pam said. "No one can know. Not your stupid cousin or Bill."

Dakota nodded her head, agreeing, though she wondered how she was going to keep this from Sookie when she was also living in the same house.

"I'm going to figure this out." stated Pam. "If anything happens, let me know."

The front door slammed shot as the vampire took her leave. The left over water in the bucket was splashing softly and Dakota glanced down to see he was wiggling his toes in it as he wrapped the blanket around himself once more.

"Are you tired?" she asked, and he nodded his head. "Come, i'll show you where to sleep."

Eric stood, hovering over her as he patted his feet dry on the towel beside them. She handed him the clothes and Dakota made her way toward the back of the living room, opening the cabinet to reveal a ladder going down. 

She had told Sookie it was where Jason kept his football stuff, so she never bothered to look into it. It was ten feet deep and she waited for him to change before turning around to motion him over. He wore Jason's old football shorts and the shirt, looking quite comical.

"Do I have to go down there?" wondered Eric, frown on his face.

"It's safe there." she smiled, descending first.

Eric had the cubby built when he renovated the home. Dakota was a new vampire who had sworn off drinking blood after her incident at the park, and he wasn't going to let her do it alone. As much as he cared for her, he was her maker now and the bond he felt was much and much stronger than before.

Even now, when he didn't know who she was, he could feel the pull and he was enamoured by it.

"Wow," he muttered, taking in the small room. "this really is my house."

"Yeah, but not for long." she crossed her arms over her chest.

"And you live here? In my house?" he asked, sly grin appearing on his face. When Dakota nodded her head he raised one brow. "Are you mine?"

She was, even if she still had difficulty coming to terms with what she was she would always be Eric's. "No."

"Do you belong to another vampire?" he wondered, and his tone changed slightly as if trying to hold in his anger.

"No," she shook her head.

"Would you like to be mine?"

Dakota didn't give him an answer as she stepped around him and went for the ladder. Eric grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving and stood chest too chest with her, causing her heart to plummet into her chest. She didn't know why, but he seemed unpredictable in his current state of mind. And although she also had his strength, she had been a vampire for a year and he more than a thousand.

"Eric, let me go."

"I just wanted to thank you for uh, for everything." he said, eyes boring into her own. "That's all."

"You're welcome." she smiled. "Please let me go now."

His brows furrowed as he took in her scent, to mesmerised by it to smell his own within her. "What are you?"

"I'm really tired of being asked that question, is what I am."

Eric stared at her pulse point before meeting her eyes and his fangs dropped from his gums. His eyes widened and he held his hand in front of his mouth, embarrassed. Dakota raised a brow, not being able to help her amusement.

"Sorry," he apologised.

"It's okay." she shrugged, heading up the ladder. "Just try to get some rest. I will see you tomorrow."

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