Tara pulled up in Sookie’s drive and saw Sam’s car there. God! She hadn’t expected to have to face them both! She began taking deep breaths. She would have to clear her mind so that Sookie couldn’t read what was going on inside of her head.

    She peered over at the small grocery bag she had in the passenger seat. Tara had stopped off at Wal-Mart before coming here and picked up a few items.

    One of them was a can of Alpo! Bill had said he had seen Sam change into a dog once. She planned to fix him dinner tonight and slip the Alpo in somehow. If he scarfed it down, then she’d know for sure Sam was a shifter. One that favored turning into a dog.

    And if he detected that the food wasn’t right, then Tara would know he was human. A  tear slid down her cheek. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she just ask the man if he was a shifter or not? Plus, who was she to judge? Things weren’t exactly right with her either.

    She would ask Sam about his shifting abilities, after the ‘Alpo Test’. Tara picked up the bag off of the passenger seat, then got out of the car. She slowly walked up to the porch, but Sam and Sookie were out there before she could touch a step.

    “Tara Mae Thornton! Where the hell have you been all night?” Sookie cried out. Sam exhaled.

    “Tara, you scared us to death. Why didn’t you call?” he asked, taking the bag out of her hand. Tara’s heart raced a mile a minute! Lord, don’t let him see the Alpo!

    “I’m sorry, Sook, Sam. I had a bad night. I learned some things and I didn’t know how to deal with them.”

    “Let’s get inside.” Sookie said worriedly. She could tell Tara was deliberately blocking off her thoughts, lest they be read. Sam put the bag down in the kitchen, then joined the women in the living room.

    “Okay, Tara,” Sam said in a no-nonsense tone, “where were you?”

    Tara looked at Sookie.

    “Bill didn’t say anything?”

    “No. He knew where you were?” Sookie asked.

    “No,” Tara admitted, “but he’s the one that suggested that I go see my aunt at her home. I did.”

    “You went to Russell Edgington’s home alone?” Sookie asked.

    “They were expecting me.” Tara said, sitting down. “I learned that I’m a witch. And Eric Northman helped prove it to me.”

    “Eric Northman?” Sam asked.

    “LaFayette has powers too and has been training with him.”

    “Sookie said something about an ‘apocalypse’? This is what all of this is all about?” Sam asked.

    Tara stood up and walked over to him.

    “I just said I’m a witch and you don’t care?”

    “Tara, your aunt is crazy. She may be able to let people read ‘visions’, but are her visions drug induced or what? We don’t know anything.” Sam said firmly. Sookie eyed him.

    “Alcide seemed to believe them. And if Eric is training LaFayette...”

    “Yeah,” Sam said slowly, “about Alcide? What is this full moon baby shit?”

    Tara took a deep breath.

    “I managed to convince him to find another witch. So that won’t be a problem.” Tara half lied.

    Sookie breathed a sigh of relief!

    “Oh thank God! I knew he could be reasonable. He had seemed so set in his ways yesterday.”

    Tara frowned.

    “You saw Alcide yesterday?”

    “Yeah. At the restaurant...oh Tara, I’m sorry! I was so sick with worry that we didn’t get a chance to talk! That skanky new waitress is Alcide’s ex-girlfriend, Debbie. He put her up to working at Merlotte’s.”

    Tara looked from Sookie to Sam.

    “What?!”

    “It was some half assed plan of his to come between us.” Sam said in a low voice. “But now that Herveaux is looking for another witch to have children with, all you have to worry about is Northman. So is he insisting that you ‘train’ like LaFayette?”

    Tara blinked.

    “Sam, Sookie, Eric threw some knives at me and somehow, someway, I froze them. They just froze in midair! There were messed up vampires all around over the things that Lafayette could do.” Tara said, looking at Sam again. “So that part of it is true.”

    Sookie didn’t know what to say. Oddly, Sam had little to say. He cupped Tara’s face between his hands.

    “Listen, let’s worry about this whole thing later, okay? You’re home and that’s all that counts, alright?”

    Tara nodded within his hands. She then reached her hands around and touched his.

    “Sam? Let’s have dinner tonight? There’s more I need to tell you.”

    Tara had decided not to lie. She would tell Sam about her night with Alcide. At least she was free of his demands that they fuck on the next three full moons. Sookie smiled at the two of them, then walked over to the door to answer the soft knock that only she had heard.

    It was a flower delivery man. Sam let go of Tara and gave the man a tip, before closing the door. Tara beamed at him!
   
    “Are these for me?” she asked. Sam shrugged.

    “I just tipped the man. They could be for Sookie.”

    Tara frowned at the idea that Sam had not sent them, and opened up the attached card. Her eyes then grew huge! It read ‘I enjoyed our evening. Can’t wait to see you tonight’-Alcide.

    “Who are they for?” Sookie asked. Tara cleared her throat again.

    “Me. They’re from Russell and Aunt Ruby Jean. They’re apologizing for scaring me.”

    Sam frowned.

    “Scaring you? So they admit there is no apocalypse?”

    “No...I just didn’t like being schemed on, that’s all.” Tara said, ripping up the note.  There was another soft rap on the door. Sam, who was closest to it, opened it up.

    This time is was a UPS delivery man looking for Tara. Tara slowly walked over and signed for the small package. Once the man left, Sam and Sookie looked at Tara expectantly.

    “Aren’t you going to open it?” Sookie asked. She then kept her expression neutral when she heard Tara think ‘not if I can help it’.

    Tara tossed the package on a table and walked up to Sam.

    “Let me fix you dinner tonight? Here. Sookie, can you stay with Bill?”

    “Of course.” Sookie said, trying to hide her concern. She now began to wonder if Tara had told the truth about the events of the other night.  She began gathering up her things.

    “I’m going to head on in to work. See you later, Sam?”

    Sam glanced over at Sookie.

    “I’ll be there in a bit.” he said. He and Tara were quiet until  Sookie left. Then Sam spoke.

    “If you have something to tell me, then I don’t want to wait until tonight to find out.” Sam said firmly.

    But the words would not come for Tara. At least not the right ones.

    “It’s just that you still haven’t said much about what I told you. About Eric Northman throwing the knives at me...and my stopping them. That doesn’t scare you or anything?”

    “I’m just glad that you’re telling me things. There would have been a time, when I wouldn’t have been able to get a peep out of you, when something bad had happened. I’m just happy that you know that you need to tell me about things that matter to you.”

    “Just like you would tell me about the things that matter to you?” Tara questioned, her eyes straying over to the grocery bag in the kitchen. Her gaze went back to Sam

    “Yeah, of course.” Sam smiled. He frowned. Tara was looking at him as if she were expecting him to say more.

    “Tara, what is it?”

    Maybe Sam couldn’t tell her he shifted into animals, because he really didn’t. Bill Compton had been known to lie.

    “It’s nothing. I was just thinking about what I was going to fix for dinner, is all.”

    “Well how about we go out? I’ll have Arlene watch things tonight.”

    “No! No, I’m going to fix everything myself.” Tara said, kissing him softly. Her kiss began to turn into something more, as Sam reached around to the back of her head and returned her kiss with a fervor that usually lead to more between them. Tara felt the pit of her stomach begin to dance at his very touch and she outlined his lips with her tongue. Their clothes slipped off with a practiced ease and soon, Tara forgot the Alpo, her betrayal of Sam the previous night, her new powers...everything.

                                                            ****

    Alcide was not in the mood to look at Ruby Jean, as he proceeded to leave the Edgington mansion.

    “Thanks for the hospitality.” was all he said. But Ruby Jean wasn’t having any of that!

    “So you’re waiting until next month? I know you made some kind of deal with Tara.”

    “Tara broke the deal, Ruby Jean  I told her if we didn’t have anything together, after last night, that I would look for another witch to carry my children. I now know we do have something.”

    “Right,” Ruby Jean said slowly and sarcastically, “and Tara is where now?”

    “At Sookie’s, scared to death because this is all new to her. But I know how to handle her. So I won’t need anymore help from you or your ‘husband’.”

    “You’d better be damned glad Russell is asleep right now, or he’d beat the wolf right out of you. You wouldn’t have any part of this...”

    “You listen to me: you may be stupid, but I’m not. And I have no intention of allowing Tara to be some pawn for Russell or even that fucker Northman, to call on, whenever they need to mess someone over. They already use Sookie for that shit and Compton is powerless to stop it.”

    “I beg your pardon?!” Ruby Jean snapped, outraged by Alcide’s tone.

    “You heard me right. Russell will want much more from Tara and LaFayette than just some dinky rings. They’ll be at his beck and call. I plan to take Tara to Shreveport, marry her and get her firmly entrenched in the pack world. She won’t have time for your shit. And don’t think Edgington wouldn’t mind becoming a widower, the moment you become useless to him.” Alcide finished, getting into his truck. He started the engine and drove off.

    Ruby Jean stared wordlessly after Alcide’s truck, then massaged her temples. The visions had swam through her mind the whole evening. She needed some kind of release. Like liquor and plenty of it!  There was something she kept seeing about Sam--Sam Merlotte, that she did not understand.

                                                              ****

    Tara rocked in fluid motion with Sam’s thrusts, while his hands kept her steady in their spontaneous, yet slightly precarious position.

    Tara’s feet were planted on the cushions of Sookie’s living room couch, and she was positioned as if she were sitting in a chair. Sam was behind her, his firm grip on her waist giving them all of the balance needed for their lovemaking. Sam’s thrusts were full of raw, sexual power as he pounded himself inside of Tara over and over again. She was soon mindless with passion and her screams of pleasure burned through him.

    After, they both rested on the said couch, with Tara lying on top of him. Sam absently caressed her back.

    “Sookie is going to wonder where you got off to.” Tara said regretfully.

    “I could take the day off.” Sam suggested, but Tara suddenly got up.

    “No. You’re always half closing or not being there, because of me.  I wouldn’t want to be anymore trouble.”

    Sam slowly stood up.

    “Where are you getting the idea that you’re trouble? Stop thinking like that. Let’s forget about our troubles and concentrate on that great dinner you’re going to make me tonight, okay?”

    Tara nodded and Sam kissed her quickly, before running up the stairs to use Tara’s shower. Tara slowly sat back down on the couch, her eyes focused on the bag. She planned to make ‘Alpo Lasagna’ tonight.

    Don’t eat it, Sam! Know that it’s Alpo!

    Hours after Sam left, Tara, who had by now taken her own shower and changed into a halter top and shorts, was just putting the special lasagna in the oven, when a sound from outside made her wipe her hands on a towel and peek outside.

    Alcide had the hood of her car up, and appeared to be fixing it.  Tara sighed. She’d rather her car stay fucked up and she either walk or take the bus, than face this man right now. But there was no avoiding this.

    She glanced over at the flowers he had sent earlier.  Sookie had put them in a vase before leaving. They did brighten up the living room. Tara walked over to the door, opened it and stepped outside. She watched Alcide from the porch for a moment, before walking down the steps and over to where he was working.

    Alcide had just raised up and closed her front hood, when she appeared before him. There was a brief awkward silence, before Tara said ‘hey’.

    “Hey, yourself.” Alcide said, taking her in. She looked like a Black, Daisy Duke, with a little halter top, shorts and hair that hung down over her breasts. He took a deep breath as he waited for her to say something.

    “I got your flowers.”

    “Yeah?”

    “And your note. I can’t be with you tonight and that’s that. I’m cooking dinner for Sam and I need to find out if he’s been keeping something from me. So...”

    Alcide squinted at her.

    “Whoa! What is this about Merlotte’s lying to you?”

    Tara folded her arms.

    “I really think that Bill Compton is the liar. He told me some BS last night, about Sam being a shifter. And that he likes to turn into dogs and flies. The man is a lying ass and everyone knows it. So I don’t want to insult Sam by asking him something so stupid. And yet, I do need to know. So I’m testing him.”

    Alcide just stared at her. Tara didn’t know that Sam was a shifter???

    “What kind of test?”

    “Never mind that. Just know that I need you to keep your word and find another witch to fuck.”

    Alcide said nothing for a moment, then spoke.

    “Do you think I could get something to drink?”

    Tara didn’t ask him about his being thirsty or getting something to drink! But she didn’t want to be inhospitable.

    “Okay. Come on in.”

    Alcide followed Tara into the house, where she walked up to a cabinet and took out a glass. She then opened the refrigerator. Meanwhile, Alcide noticed his flowers and...

    What the fuck was a can of Alpo doing on the counter here?! Tara’s back was to him as she pulled a pitcher out of the refrigerator. Alcide picked up the can and saw it was empty. He peered at the brand. It read ‘Alpo: Classic Chunky’.

    Alcide then sniffed the air and his eyes narrowed on the oven.

    “So...what are you cooking for Sam this evening?” he asked casually. Tara turned around and saw him holding the Alpo can.

    “Lasagna,” she said in a tight voice, “Sookie got a dog.”

    “What kind?”

    “Uh, just a dog. A mongrel.”

    “Is he out back?”

    “No, Sookie took him to work with her.”

    “There’s laws against dogs being in restaurants, Tara.”

    “Yeah, I told Sam that...”

    “Tara,” Alcide said, setting down the can, “Lord, tell me that that Alpo wasn’t used in that ‘lasagna’ you’re making for Merlotte?”

    “No...okay, YES! How the hell else am I supposed to figure out if he’s part dog or something?!”

    Alcide walked over to her and rested his hands on her shoulders.

    “Now calm down. That’s not how his kind of shifting works.”

    Tara lurched away from him!

    “What are you saying?”

    “I’m saying that Bill Compton wasn’t lying. Sam is a shifter. But he probably didn’t mean to keep it from you.”

    “Then why didn’t he tell me?”

    “Probably because he didn’t want to end up getting fed Alpo!”

    Tara rolled her eyes and walked out of the kitchen. Alcide turned off the stove and followed her.

    “Tara, I want you to come someplace with me.”

    Tara raised a brow.

    “Now?”

    “Yes.”

    “I hope this isn’t your way of being slick? Do you plan to take me someplace, then lock me up until the moon comes out?”

    Alcide reached for her hand and squeezed it.

    “Just trust me on this, okay?”

    Tara shrugged.

    “Okay, but let me turn off the oven.”

    “I already turned it off. But I think you ought to throw out that crap you were going to serve. You wouldn’t want anyone else to accidentally come in here and think that was dinner.” he said pointedly.

                                                        ****

    Sam Merlotte and Terry Bellefleur, looked like different men, as they walked into the local FBI Headquarters.

    And that’s because they were.

    Terry Bellefleur had never been crazy. That had just been a cover he used, when he was recruited in the military, to return to his hometown of Bon Temps, Louisiana and keep an eye on humans that interacted with vampires.

    Sam had been given little choice. He had been caught in a confidence scam years ago, and was looking at hard prison time. He was given the chance to start a new life, provided he too provide the government with the same service. And his supernatural background was a plus.

    But as he grew to become a part of the community, he liked spying less and less. He had actually cared very much for Sookie. Tara...

    He blocked off his thoughts about her. There was no point in second guessing himself here. He would have to tell the agent in charge, about Tara, LaFayette and Ruby Jean. They were now part of ‘Operation Apocalypse’.

    Sam and Terry sat in the agent’s office, waiting for him to arrive. Terry eyed him.

    “You look stressed?”

    Sam leaned back in his chair.

    “I should be. Arlene and all the others you were told to watch, don’t have nothing to do with nothing. I’m the one that’s taking the brunt of it.”

    Terry said nothing to that. And that was because Sam didn’t usually talk this way. Nor was this easy for either of them, but especially Sam. He actually cared for Tara Thornton, that was clear. Arlene Fowler was relatively easy to deal with. Pretending to be crazy after a war that didn’t affect him one bit, was effortless.

    But Sam had a good heart. He just fell into trouble long ago and couldn’t escape it. Worse yet, Sam was right. Sookie and Tara were always in the thick of trouble around here but...

    “Sam, no one told you to take up with Tara. You know that.” Terry reminded him. Sam stood up and began to pace slightly.

    “I never thought SHE would end up being any trouble when it came to vamps and werewolves!”

    Terry leaned forward.

    “Wait a minute! I was assuming that you’re upset about how Tara is going to react to your betraying Sookie. Or even to you being a shifter. What else is going on here?” he asked his friend, just as Special Agent Dennis McKay walked into his office. He was, and had been in charge of, ‘Operation Apocalypse’ for several years now.

    “Gentlemen,” he said, closing his door. He walked around behind his desk and sat down, focusing on Terry.

    “Anything new?”

    Terry rubbed the bridge of his  nose tiredly.

    “No, not really. Just that us humans are getting more and more uneasy by all the supernatural shit going on in Bon Temps.”

    “Good.” Dennis said casually. “We’ll need the support of everyone human once this goes down. We can’t have anyone sympathizing...”

    “With the sups?” Sam asked sarcastically. Terry looked away. This whole operation was born, as soon as Sam revealed Alcide Herveaux’s existence, some time ago. The vamps, many humans and this government, were on the fence about living with anyway. Sam’s kind seemed relatively harmless. But the idea of werewolves AND vamps had pretty much quietly freaked the powers-to-be in this country out.

    Dennis leaned back in chair.

    “You’re being a smart ass, Merlotte. That means you have something juicy to report.”

    Sam sat back down and sighed.

    “Yeah, I do. We’re not only dealing with vamps and wolves anymore. Witches are now involved here.”

    Agent McKay leaned forward.

    “Witches? In what way?”

    Terry even looked curious. Sam swallowed, then spoke.

    “Tara. Tara’s aunt is named Ruby Jean Reynolds.”

    “LaFayette’s crazy mama?” Terry asked.

    “Yeah, one in the same. But for some reason, she doesn’t sound so crazy anymore. I’m still not sure how Edgington became aware of her, but that is why they’re married. He needs a witch and she’s psychic as fuck! So psychic that it’s only a matter of time before she guesses about me.”

    “Wait a minute! Back up here! Tell me what’s going on here?” McKay asked.

    “What’s going on, is that Ruby Jean saw what was to come: the extermination of vamps, werewolves, witches and whatever the hell Sookie Stackhouse really is. Sookie told me all of it last night. Tara came home this morning, after spending the night at Edgington’s estate. There’s a plan for Tara and LaFayette to perform some spell so that vampires can walk around during the day.”

    “Holy shit!” Terry muttered.

    “That ain’t the half of it!” McKay growled. “That can’t be allowed to happen.”

    “And,” Sam continued, “Tara’s powers ain’t up to snuff yet. So we have some time before this can happen. But it’s worse than that...the werewolves are looking to create some sort of mix between wolves and witches. And Tara is the designated ‘mother’.”

    McKay slowly stood up.

    “I need to make a call. Both of you stay here.” he said, leaving his office. If all of what Merlotte was saying was true, then ‘Operation Apocalypse’ would have to be moved up.

    Meanwhile, Sam ignored Terry’s stare. It was worse for him. For he could smell that goddamned werewolf on Tara, as soon as she came home today. She had definitely slept with Alcide Herveaux and lied in his face about it.