29 - Hugo POV
1247 Words
Earlier that day...
Urrrggghhhh... this better be worth it.
I could feel all the bruises that I was recovering from all due to that beat down from Alvarez. My body ached all over.
And my 'get out of jail free' card... just make sure one human and one dark witch are well and truly looked after whilst they carry out whatever nefarious deeds, which I will be dragged into most likely considering how my luck is going.
To top it all off, every now and then I can feel my heart cry out in pain as my mate's mark burns. Not as much as it had when Talia seemed to first discover her new mate, but enough for pins and needles to still sink into me every time it happened.
And so, now I was waiting for the esteemed guests to arrive into the country. It had already been a four hour drive down to Heathrow Airport in London; would have taken just over teo hours usually from Nottingham, however there were typical road works which caused tailbacks. Oh... the joys.
I hope these two weren't expecting a cheery welcome when they arrived - they were going to get what they were given.
Having heard their flight land a few minutes ago, I was agitated. Pacing outside of customs and baggage claim, I wondered how my life ended up like this.
I was a war baby, born 1940 - baby boomer generation, that was me. Then, towards the end of roaring sixties, I was a true player - leather jacket, slick back hair and rode a harley. Anything with legs wanted a piece of me. Anything with legs got a piece of me. I didn't care.
That's when trouble started to find me. Apparently, I slept with the wrong girl. She turned out to be the prize possession of a vampire who was a raving lunatic.
They attacked me. They were going to kill me. They drained me of nearly all my blood.
I thought I was going to die that. All thoughts of living to see tomorrow were well and truly out of the window.
That was until I was saved... Talia saved me. She took down the vampire. She carried me to safety. She made sure I stayed alive.
I woke up surrounded by witches and wizards - she had taken me to a local coven. That is when I saw her properly... or, more accurately, I could smell her.
The confusion I had as I woke up as to my senses were super sensitive was later explained. Due to the bite I had received from the vampire, they had managed to inject me with their venom in the process.
A rookie error for new born vampires apparently. Not sure how that was supposed to comfort me.
But Talia... she took my hand, she gave me reassurance and she told me how she would take care of me and walk me through this new phase of my life.
And she did - the sun lessons were not fun. And having this thurst for blood was a whole lot of... you get the picture.
Eventually, I asked why I was so drawn to her. I could feel something inside of me begging me to get close to her on another level to what I thought love was before. That was the best day of my life - the day Talia told me about how vampires have mates for life and that I was hers.
We were stuck together like glue as we went on adventures around the world together.
Then... the new millenium hit.
It wasn't bad to start with, it just... shifted... and we couldn't stop it.
Our mate bond wasn't as strong as it was before, and it was about thirty years old at this point. As the years went on, I could feel the gap growing between us - we started to spend more time on our own rather than with each other.
I could feel my old ways creeping back to the surface, luring me to temptation. Wanting me to find the next thrill.
That's when it happened. That is when I fell. Hard.
Dr*gs. S*x. G*mbling.
You name it. I was doing it.
Talia confronting me so many times on the habits, especially on the cheating - I never realised how much it hurt her for me to sleep with others until now.
Eventually... she walked away.
No messages, no calls, no goodbye speech.
One day, I went back to our flat and... she wasn't there. It took me to realise that her belongings were gone.
Once I realised that... I turned selfish. I threw a swingers party. In our own flat. Just to spite her. To prove that I didn't need her.
Except... that was I lie.
I really needed her. I missed her terribly.
She became my guardian angel. I never know how she knows when I am in trouble. But, when Alvarez and his goons started looking for payments, I would later be informed that the debts had been paid in full by Talia.
Part of me wanted to thank her. The other part of me didn't want to see her - she abandoned me.
No... I drove her away.
Had I remained faithful and worked on our relationship together, things would be different now for us.
I never saw her. I could not recall the last time I had seen her.
Now, knowing she was back in Nottingham, but with someone else. Is this my personal punishment?
A large crowd of people start emerging from baggage claim. I hold up my sign that Alvarez told the dark witch to look out for so that they knew I was the assistance.
Some people start scanning the row of signs before breezing past me. I take one look at a pair come through who were darting their eyes from left to right - yep, this must be them.
The woman clocks me. She gazes down at my sign and the biggest evil grin spreads across her face when she reads it before turning to me.
The sign - Xavier Weston
She giddily skips over to me, dragging the man behind her. "You must be our driver."
"As well as other areas of help from the sounds of it." She was too peppy for my liking. I thought dark witches were supposed to be... more brooding than this.
"Can we get out of here? There are too many people for my liking." The man next to her sighs. You and me both, buddy.
"Hugo." I reach out my hand towards him; he seemed a little older than I had expected from the stories.
"Gabe." He returns the gesture. "The crazy lady is Jenna."
"This crazy lady kept you alive these last couple of months." She gives him a shove, causing him to almost fall on his arse. Damn, she was strong.
"Anyway, let's go. We got a long drive back." I start to walk away. Footsteps confirm that they are following me.
"You could be a gentleman and help me with my luggage." Jenna whines. My God, she was going to be annoying.
"I am no gentleman." We stick to the shade as we make our way to the car. Thankfully, it was a cool winter's day so there wasn't much sunlight to contend with.
We load up my car and take to the road.
Nottingham awaits.
- Writer
