Fade Away

17.

I followed Alyssa downstairs and started towards my mate, who was conversing with our guests.
Jazmin, I assumed, was just as pretty at the photographs that Camille had shown me.
She was quite short; shorter than Alyssa, with long black hair. She had pale skin and hazel eyes.
'Hi. I'm Maddie. You're Jazmin?' I asked her. She nodded shyly, hugging the boy standing next to her. He was slightly taller than me, with long-ish black hair and a few lip piercings.
'Nice to see you again.' I pulled her in for a hug and she returned it hesitantly.
'My name is Jason. Nice to meet you, Maddie.' I made a move to shake his hand, but he had other plans. He pulled me in for a hug, kissing my lips. I pulled back immediately, as Angelo moved to punch him. I moved infront of Jason. His fists connected with my jaw and stomach and I gasped, clutching my stomach and jaw. Angelo's eyes widened in horror, cradling me against his chest, murmuring apologies. I knew what we had to do to stop the pain. I needed to feed AGAIN for like the 3rd time, today.
'What the fuck was that?!' Alyssa yelled at Jason, who looked equally as shocked as everyone else.
'It's...the way I...greet people...I was brought up to kiss people when you greet them.' He explained.
'On the cheek, you idiot! Not their lips! Especially not people who have a partner! The only lips that you're supposed to kiss are mine!'Jazmin smacked his arm.
'Let's go get you cleaned up.' Angelo said, lifting me bridal style and walking upstairs.
He set me on our bed and locked the bedroom door.
'I'm so...so sorry, mi amor...' He whispered, puncturing the skin on his neck with his nail. He pulled me up, holding me against his side. Being a fertile fucking sucks. No pun intended. My body is EXTREMELY fragile, so my body feels worse than it actually should or would have when I was human.
I began to drink from him and slowly, but surely, I felt my energy return and the pain began to calm. All my energy had gone into trying to numb the pain.
I continued to drink, even though I knew I had had enough, making him groan slightly. He knew that I was finished, but didn't stop me. He was enjoying this as much as I was. We were interrupted by the door knocking.
'Would you hurry up! You have guests downstairs!' Alyssa called in.
I rolled my eyes, licking the blood off of the wound on Angelo's neck.
'There. Now it just looks like a love bite.' I told him, covering it with his long hair. I pulled away and kissed his blushing cheek, before kissing his lips.
'Why are you embarrassed?' I chuckled at him. He shrugged.
'It's just that I was mated with the most beautiful person ever...Oh crap.' He muttered, his eyes widening.
I frowned. 'What's wrong?' I asked.
'My punishment. It's today.' He said.
My eyes widened.
'Seriously?!' He nodded slowly.
'So...what do we do? Where do we go?' I asked him.
'I'll have to got to my parents' house. The punishment is at 3. It's 2:30, now.' He said, standing up.
I gulped, standing up and wrapping my arms around his waist from behind. I rested my forehead against his shoulder blades.
'Guys! You need to...' Alyssa stopped talking when she saw Angelo's expression.
'What's wrong?' She asked us, closing the door.
'His punishment is today.' I whispered, twirling Angelo around, so that we were facing each other and I cupped his cheeks, staring into his grey-blue eyes that were usually playful and teasing, were now showing signs of sadness and fear.
I stroked his cheek, ignoring the fact that Alyssa was still in the room.
Trying to hold back the tears that were welling up in my eyes, I reached up and kissed him slowly, in an attempt to calm him down. I saw his tense muscles relax and I smiled slightly, pulling away.
'Alyssa?' I peered at her over my shoulder.
'Yeah?' She asked awkwardly.
'Can you and the guys entertain Jazmin and Jason, while we go to-'
'No! I don't want you to see me like that-'
'I don't care!' I snapped at him. I hadn't intended on sounding so harsh, but I couldn't help it. I was going to be there for him, whether he liked it or not.
I tucked a few strands of his hair behind his ear.
'We're mates. Of course I'm going with you. You'll need my blood to get your energy back...' I whispered.
He shook his head. 'They won't allow you to feed me. It's apart of my punishment. I can't receive any help from my mate.' He told me, sighing.
'We'll take care of them. Good luck Ange.' Alyssa hugged us both, before trudging down the stairs.
'Let's go.' He murmured, taking my arm. I quickly lifted my jacket, before allowing him to pull me towards the shadows.

We landed at a place that looked very familiar. Then it dawned on me.
THIS IS WHERE MY DREAM TOOK PLACE.
Angelo sensed my discomfort and pulled me closer, guiding me up some steps and into the castle.
'Angelo! There you are! Come on!' Tommy motioned for us to follow him down a corridor. Honestly, this place reminded me of Hogwarts, with all its corridors and the torches that lit them. I was half expecting to walk into Dumbledor or Snape. We ended up in the courtyard where, in my dream, Angelo and his parents-
I shook the thought out of my head. No. I will not think of that. I refuse to sadden myself anymore.
A man came over to us and began o speak to Angelo in a different language. Latin, I think. I didn't know he could speak Latin. I shrugged, but followed Tommy to our seats. It was like a Greek Amphitheatre, with seats surrounding the "stage".
Angelo stepped up onto the podium that was located in the middle of the "stage", with a determined look on his face. His face didn't show an ounce of fear when the guards chained him to a pillar and forced him onto his knees.
My heart began to race when a man walked out with a giant whip. Angie!
He began to ask Angelo questions about his charges and his sentence, asking for a confession, which Angelo proudly provided him with.
Then the "real" fun began.
When the first slash hit my mate's back, I felt a hot pain on my back. I groaned and Tommy held me against his side. He sighed.
'You two have had sex, haven't you?' He said quietly, flinching when Angelo took another hit.
I was in too much pain to feel embarrassed when I nodded against his shoulder.
'You're feeling his pain. When you first have sex with your mate, you become one. You feel each other's pain as well as each other's emotions.' He said, stroking my hair.
That's why I was in so much pain. I was basically halving Angelo's pain. At least I'm kind of helping him. It was technically my fault that he was in Ireland in the first place.
I stole a glance at my mate, who was lying limp against the pillar, covered in blood and slashes.
When the guards began to beat Angelo, Tommy immediately took action.
'That is enough! His sentence was 50 lashes! Nothing more!' He shouted, helping me up and walking towards my mate.
Ignoring the intense pain on my legs and back, I ran over to Angelo, holding his head so that he was facing me. His eyes were dazed over and his face was full of cuts and grazes from hitting his face off of the stone pillar so many times. I winced, kissing his bleeding lip lightly.
I glanced around us, making sure that no one saw what I was about to do. This was practically against the law and I could get into BIG trouble.
I pricked my finger with my fang and pressed it to Angelo's lips.
He immediately began to drink and I could see some of his bruises beginning to fade. I quickly pulled my finger from his lips when the guards approached.
Tommy walked over and began to unchain Angelo, who fell limp against me. I struggled to hold his weight, but someone lifted him over their shoulder. I smiled slightly at Chris, relieved that it was all over.
'Let's go.' Ghost said, hugging me. I nodded, waving tiredly at Tommy.
When we arrived back home, it was half 2 in the morning, so everyone was asleep. I pulled back the bed duvet and Chris placed Angelo on the bed carefully.
'Thank you.' I hugged him and Ghost, before beginning to get ready for bed and they left I pulled Angelo's blood-covered shirt over his head carefully and gently pulled off his shoes and jeans, leaving him in his boxers. I laid beside him, making a wound on my wrist and pressing it against his lips. He drunk a bit and I held his head up, so that he wouldn't choke. Most of his cuts and bruises disappeared, but I was still unsure of the damage done on his back.
I kissed his cheek lightly, before closing my eyes. After a few minutes, he curled into my side, laying his head on my chest. I smiled, running my fingers through his dirty hair a few times before embracing sleep.