TUESDAY, OCTOBER 11. Octavia Fant appears on Sookie’s doorstep, informing Sookie that she is there to see Amelia. Sookie leaves them to talk and goes in to make herself some coffee and read the paper. She is shocked and saddened to read of the death of Maria-Star Cooper, Alcide Herveaux’s girlfriend, and her grief is compounded when Alcide calls to tell her that Maria-Star was murdered, warning Sookie that she may be in danger herself. She tells him about the attack the night before by the Were, and he immediately offers protection. However, Sookie declines. Alcide asks Sookie to tell Amanda, a member of his pack, the entire story. Amanda inquires if Amelia can do some sort of reading to try to ascertain who was involved in Maria-Star’s death. Amelia agrees, but Octavia questions her decision, pointing out the previous failure that led to Bob’s transformation. Sookie challenges Octavia to turn Bob back herself, but she fails in her attempt. Amelia, Sookie, and Octavia then go to Maria-Star’s home, where they meet up with Tray Dawson, a Bon Temps lone wolf, who is guarding the apartment. The two witches are able to perform an ectoplasmic reconstruction, and they all witness Maria-Star’s murder by the Were Cal Myers and a half-wolf, half-man accomplice. Amelia and Octavia leave for home, and Sookie accompanies Tray to Amanda’s house, where Alcide is lying low. Sookie and Tray report what they have learned about Maria-Star’s death. The Weres involved in her murder as well as in the attack on Sookie all work for the current packmaster, Patrick Furnan. When Alcide reacts angrily to the information that Sookie had dinner with Eric, she loses her temper with him and storms out. Tray drives her home.
Already weary from the events of the day, Sookie goes to work and is disheartened to see members of the Fellowship of the Sun in the bar. To her surprise, Pam comes in, followed shortly by Amelia, and the two have drinks and then leave on a date. The Fellowship members are indignant about a vampire being in the bar, but after they leave, Sam tells Sookie she must suck it up and treat them as she would any other customers. She knows he is right, but the admonishment stings. She leaves quickly after closing and finds Tray waiting for her in the parking lot. The Were tells her that he is following her home to check out her house. Once he makes certain the house is clear, they sit down, and he informs her that Alcide found Christine Larrabee, the widow of a previous packmaster, dead that afternoon. Patrick Furnan is suspected in both Christine’s and Maria-Star’s deaths.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12. Sookie visits the local library and greets the librarian, Barbara Beck, wife of Detective Alcee Beck, before checking out the new book arrivals. Sookie hears a sound from Barbara and looks up to see her being held by a huge Were with a knife to her throat. Sookie senses Alcee coming quietly in the back door and warns the attacker in a loud voice what Barbara’s husband will do to him if he hurts Barbara. Alcee is able to silently come up behind them and put his gun to the assailant’s neck, but the quick-thinking attacker pushes Barbara toward her husband and rushes, knife raised, at Sookie. She flings a hardback in his face, tripping him, and he falls to his death on his own knife.
A fed-up Sookie finally decides to confront Furnan, and she calls him and demands to know why he has ordered the attacks upon her and the murders of the Were females. An angry and frightened Furnan denies any involvement and claims that his own wife, Libby, has been kidnapped. Sookie convinces him to call Alcide and set up a meeting, but his one condition is that she attend as a friend of the pack to read both sides for honesty.
Later that night Sookie, accompanied by a concerned Sam, travels to the same industrial park where the packmaster contest was held. She grasps Alcide’s and Furnan’s hands as they question each other. Just as they realize that neither of them is responsible for the attacks and murders, a voice calls from the roof of a nearby building. Priscilla Hebert, the widow of a packmaster from another part of the state and Cal Myers’s half sister, announces that she committed the murders of Maria-Star, Christine, and Libby in a plot to set Alcide and Furnan against each other so that she could more easily take over their pack. Both Alcide and Furnan strike with suddenly clawed hands, Furnan eviscerating Cal as Alcide takes off the back of his head. Howling with fury, Priscilla leads her wolves in attack, and Sam and Sookie find themselves in the middle of the warring Weres. Sam tells her he is going to change, and a surprised Sookie turns to find that Sam has shifted into a lion. Taking down the enemy with a swipe of his huge paws, Sam draws the attention of Priscilla, now a wolf. Amanda, also in wolf form, attempts to distract Priscilla as she works her way over to Sam, but Priscilla manages to break Amanda’s neck and leaps on the lion, sinking her teeth into his neck. Seeing Sam attacked, Sookie launches herself onto Priscilla’s back and begins to strangle her. Priscilla must release Sam, who then turns and kills her. When Sookie falls to the pavement, vulnerable, Claudine suddenly appears standing over her to protect her through the remaining battle. When the action finally ends, Priscilla and most of her wolves, as well as Furnan and Amanda, are dead, and Alcide declares himself the new packmaster.
Claudine helps Sookie to her feet and reveals that Niall is also Claudine’s grandfather. She urges Sookie to leave before the wolves celebrate the ascension of Alcide, and Sam marches Sookie out to his truck.
When she gets home, Sookie finds Pam sitting in the kitchen with Amelia, and Sookie knows that the vampire will report the events of the evening back to Eric.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 13. Sookie works the day shift and is not pleased when Tanya Grissom shows up to speak with Sam. Her fellow waitress Holly tells her that Tanya has been living out at Hotshot with the panthers, and Sookie is surprised to find that Holly believes that the shifters will come out someday. Sookie again finds Pam at her house with Amelia when she returns home from work that evening and questions Pam about whether Eric has heard anything more about Jonathan. Pam suggests Sookie call Eric to find out, so she calls Fangtasia. During the conversation, Sookie learns to her dismay that Eric believes that the queen’s weakened state has left Louisiana open to a hostile takeover.
Uneasy and unable to sleep, Sookie is startled when Bill suddenly appears in her bedroom. He reports that Pam called him to come guard Sookie when she herself left for Fangtasia after becoming concerned because she couldn’t reach either Eric or Cleo Babbitt, the sheriff of Area Three. A terrified Frannie Quinn appears suddenly at the door with a warning from her brother. The vampires of Las Vegas are on their way to take over Louisiana. As a shocked Sookie, Amelia, and Bill hear Frannie’s story and are preparing for the worst, Eric arrives with the news that his people have gathered at Fangtasia, but he was cut off from the club.
The Vegas vampires arrive in Sookie’s yard, and the king’s representative, Victor Madden, asks to enter the house to negotiate with Eric. Sookie is distressed to learn that Quinn is with the Vegas vampires, who have used his mother and sister to blackmail him into their service. Victor reports that Sophie-Anne and the other sheriffs have been killed, but they feel Eric can be useful to them if he will swear allegiance to the King of Nevada, Felipe de Castro. Sookie attempts to call Niall, but Eric prevents her from making contact. Victor finally asks Eric whether he intends to fight to the death or accept the takeover, informing him that Fangtasia is surrounded and that he is prepared to burn it down with the Area Five vampires inside. Knowing that his people will die for nothing, Eric accepts the sovereignty of the king. Eric wanders off to have some privacy as he calls Fangtasia to tell his people to surrender and swear fealty to the new king. Bill comforts a shaken Sookie and then goes out to speak with the new leadership.