Victoria

Chapter 4

I moved slowly out of the terminal looking for Ethan, passing others who seemed to be doing the same.

Ethan made it easy to find him, his platinum blonde hair and tall, lean figure standing out in the crowd. I picked up my pace causing him to turn towards me, no doubt using his sensitive hearing. He was just a I remembered him, not that he could change much. His blonde hair was cut short, and his pale skin contrasted oddly against his dark red eyes.

I had met him in the mid 40's, a young solider celebrating surviving a brutal war. I saw him off and on for a few decades, stopping by every once and a while to catch up but I hadn't seen him since the 1980's however time rarely affected us.

I pulled away from him when he started to get his heart involved, the last visit not ending well. He had tried to confess his feeling for me, then got angry when I didn't reciprocate, though I wasn't nice on how I expressed it, the argument turning nasty before I booked it.

"Hello Victoria." He greeted as warmly as he could, but I could hear his heartbeat pick up.

"Thank you for coming Ethan."

"As if I had a choice." He said back sarcastically.

"Hmm you're right. Come I have to get my luggage." I said heading towards the baggage claim.

I reluctantly walked in the shadow parts, avoiding direct sun with Ethan. Sun was no issue for me but for normal vampires like Ethan it meant a painful death.

"So why the sudden urge to visit?" Ethan questioned, curiosity seeping into his voice.

"I need information on someone." I said bluntly as I reached towards the conveyor belt and pulled my bag off then turned to face him.

"For what?" His mahogany eyes examining mine.

"Later." I stated glancing around. I could smell others here, wolves for sure and I wasn't sure which pack they belonged to. I couldn't afford any slips. His eyes followed mine and confusion turned into alert when he understood there was listening ears around us.

We didn't speak after that, moving through the airport and down to the unground garage to his tinted sports car.

"Nice." I complemented climbing into the car.

He hummed and slid into the driver's seat, starting the car and driving out of the garage. I watched carefully as the sun hit his knuckles, waiting for them to catch fire. He looked back at me and laughed slightly, tapping the window,

"It's a special tint, sun rays can't penetrate."

I smiled and focused my stare on the window. I didn't have to look back at him to see if my test was working.

"Ow! Victoria!" Ethan screamed out and jerked his hands away from the sun, slowing down and rubbing his hand over his burned knuckle.

"Sorry you know I'm an opportunist." I shrugged keeping a wide smile on my face.

A low hiss escaped him, but I remained entertained. In truth I did find humor in my actions however it wasn't my goal. I had to do a quick check to see if my abilities were still within reach. I hadn't used them in so long. I always expected that one day they would disappear, but they never did.

Satisfied I pulled my eyes away from the windshield and towards the landscape. It was nearly march and yet there was still snow on the ground, and by the look of the sky more would likely fall.

After two hours of driving southwest we arrived at a modest home. Ethan made sure to pull into the garage to avoid the setting sun.

I exited the vehicle and followed Ethan into his house, taking my bags with me. I was quick to bring my stuff into the guest room down the hall. I dropped the bag to the bed then followed the sound of Ethan's footsteps into the kitchen. I entered the modern kitchen, leaning up against the counter while he pulled out a blood bag and two glasses.