Born to love again

Who Are You, Really?

Eric knew something was wrong the moment he opened his eyes. His white fangs extended defensively at the pervasive feeling and his face twisted into a dark expression of anger. The bond between him and Sookie, forged by his blood in her veins, now pulsed with worry, guilt and fear that did not belong to him.
Forcibly retracting his fangs was a testament to his age, the usually instinctual, unconscious action was culled with his self-discipline, snapping back into his mouth with an audible click as he slicked back his hair.

He shouldn't make a scene, yet, until he gained more information about the situation Sookie had found herself in. For now, the feelings sent through their one-sided bond wasn't in what he would consider dangerous territory, not escalated to the point of panic but slowly fading in and out as if something were constantly reassuring her, but yet, scared her.
He ran to his club, although Sookie had insisted it be a 'Bar & Grill' during daylight, with speeds incomprehensible to the human eyes. The world simultaneously slowing down and speeding up, with street lights flashing and murmured human gibberish passing through his ears.

When he arrived his concern grew, his eyes quickly scanned the heads of every human he could see, none the right shade of blonde. A human was waving him down, one of the waitresses on the night shift, any other he would have ignored, while they didn't understand their attraction to him, it was only natural that his presence was alluring to humans. But he and Sookie had personally selected their waitresses carefully and none would frivolously seek his attention, much preferring to talk to Sookie further promoting his untouchable status in their eyes.

He approached as a man on a mission and watched with boredom as the woman's eyes widened, her heart beating faster, blood swelled in her cheeks as her breath labored with the telltale sign of desire. Eric was half tempted to growl, to flash his fangs, to watch as that arousal turned to fear when faced with a creature she couldn't understand.
But, patience was a virtue he most certainly possessed so he instead plastered that smile he had perfected over the centuries, not showing too much teeth and yet not shying away from pleasantry, a smile that could make one feel as if they were the center of his attention, "What can I do for you?" He purred, careful to hunch so that his height wouldn't cause any discomfort in the human, at the same time making himself seem smaller, and friendlier.

The woman stayed stunned, and for a minute Eric thought he had overplayed it, but thankfully she gathered herself and her senses with a deep gasp, replying in what he assumed she thought was a sultry tone, "Ms. Stackhouse is at the police station."
Despite himself, Eric's eyes widened in surprise. What? In the weeks they had arrived in this small town he had done everything to evade any confrontation with human police. That included perfecting their existence with something his glamour couldn't cover, like fake documents. There was no reason for the police to take interest in them.
The woman noticed his suspicion with a shrug, "Just said to let you know."

Eric nodded in thanks, smiling at the woman once more before turning to the door and replacing his faked expression with a frightening look. Stepping outside he mapped the path towards the police station in his head, thinking it easier to cut through the woods so that he could run at full speed without alerting the humans. As he dodged branches and leaped over stones nearing his target his instincts flared as his supernatural hearing caught a growl behind him.

Stopping in place he cautiously scanned for anything out of the ordinary, the noise hadn't sounded like a bear. In fact it sounded like– There, in the blackness of the forest a pair of amber eyes peered back at him. As he turned to his right another pair of eyes, to his left was a similar occurrence. Before he knew it he had been completely surrounded by a pack of growling giant wolves, although Eric had an inkling of their true nature.
Eric hissed in warning, counting 10 wolves, but Eric wouldn't underestimate their numbers. Were packs usually held numbers in the 30s or 40s.

His blue eyes narrowed in interest as the creatures backed away warily before setting their resolve. At the moment they stood at an impasse, Eric with his fangs exposed, his body set in a carefully disarming pose, however, ready to strike at any hostile movement, and the wolves circling him, making sure that he wouldn't be able to run away.
"I'm busy," Eric finally stated as he eyed what he assumed to be their alpha. It was a large black wolf, its tail straight out and slightly raised, higher than any of the others in its pack. Eric's voice was full of impatience, "That means shift and we'll talk like civilized supes or get out of my way were." His lips pulled back as he hissed.

The wolves seemed to have a conversation as the growls turned to yips and yaps before the alpha retreated into the forest and emerged a man. He was taller than Eric had assumed he would be, a couple of inches taller than himself at full height. The man had tan skin and wore a pair of gray sweatpants to hide his indecency.
Eric couldn't help but chuckle, "Modest werewolves, that's a first."
The man growled, "And a bloodsucking leech. You said you were busy, killing the locals is too much work for you?" He accused.

Irritation boiled inside of Eric, he like many vampires aren't fond of werewolves, but he in particular still bore a centuries-old grudge that killing Russel Edgington could not soothe. He wasn't in the mood to entertain the company of the same race of creatures that had killed his family, much less over some misunderstanding or misconception. He gritted his teeth before he did something he would regret... well he wouldn't regret it, in fact he might enjoy it, but that would mean making his night longer and bloodier than it had to be.

"You've got the wrong vampire then because I haven't killed anyone since I've stepped foot in Washington," He raised his arms in mock surrender. A wolf to his right barked.
"So you have killed then," The man growled, his expression turning wary as if expecting an attack at any instance, his body had started vaguely trembling.
"Of course," He waved seeking to appease them, "One inevitably makes a mistake or two in 1,000 years of life," Eric gave a falsely benign smile that highlighted the fangs still extended in his mouth, "Don't worry, most deserved it." He said, making it very clear what he meant by 'mistake', his expression murderously darkened as he remembered his more satisfying kills and the many people that have paid the price for wronging him. The man in front of him exposed his fear as he shivered at Eric's easy admittance to murder.

"However, if you are worried about the humans in this area, I wouldn't lay a hand on them, I'm mainstreaming," Eric said, giving a wary gaze to the werewolves who have grown closer. He explored the possibilities of a hostile encounter between them, he could easily snap the necks of a few, while using the rest as shields to block any form of retaliation, but would naturally acquire injuries as their numbers overwhelmed him, something he was hoping to avoid.
"Mainstreaming?" The man's eyebrow rose at the unfamiliar term.

Eric sighed, he had forgotten in this world, universe wherever they had found themselves in, Mainstreaming was not a common practice among the supes. His lip twitched queerly at the thought that he might be the first to use the term. Godric would be proud.
"Vampire politics, it means that I view humans as our equals, treating them as such, no killing of innocents involved." Eric of course didn't mention what he would do to those he deemed guilty.

The wolves shifted at his proposed stance, they seemed to consider his response and before they could change their minds Eric looked down at his nonexistent watch before continuing, "As pleasant as this conversation is going, like I said, I have places to go. Let's exchange information and go our separate ways, perhaps in the future we will have much to discuss." He nodded towards the rest of the giant wolves, carefully reaching into his jacket pocket, pulling out a few flyers, printed on the top in stylised italic font was the word Fangtasia.

"Eric Northman, Co-owner of Fangtasia, you might have heard of it, simply present this at the door, first round is on me." The man takes the flyers with a stunned expression, he had not been expecting to be advertised to, which is exactly what Eric had been hoping for.
The man responded hesitantly, "Sam Uley, Alpha of the Quileute pack," He continued flustered before seeming to gain back his wits, "Wait, you aren't allowed to leave yet."

Eric smirked, "Thursdays are ladies' night, so be sure to bring a date," Eric looked at the rest of the wolves side-eyed, "That is, if you can get one."
There was more than one wolfish snort of laughter.
"Gentlemen, I'll be off," Eric didn't give them any time to respond before he quickly levitated above them. The wolves looked up stunned, they had never seen a flying vampire before. Eric gave a cheeky wave before flying away.