Page 31 of Hitched to the Vampire King

Warmth pulsed through my chest, and I settled against him, quickly falling back asleep while cocooned in his arms.

* * *

I woke abruptlyto the sound of muffled voices just outside the bedroom door, dragging me out of a deep sleep. The instant I moved, Gabriel stirred, then bolted upright. He pushed the tousled hair back from his face as his gaze darted around the room as though searching for a threat. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one on edge.

“What’s wrong?” he demanded, his voice a deep growl.

“It’s nothing,” I reassured him. “Just heard some voices, and it woke me up.”

Gabriel’s attention leapt to the door, and he frowned as he focused on the conversation. Our visitors were attempting to whisper, so as not to be overheard, but that was a tough goal to achieve around those with supernatural hearing.

Kicking off the covers, I rose from the bed, then took a moment to stretch out my aching muscles and feel out my side. After three days of captivity, then running a marathon through never ending marshland, my body was feeling things I hadn’t felt since my first days as a werewolf. But at least my ribs finally felt better.

Gabriel climbed out of bed behind me, and together, we walked to the door. As we approached, the conversation became clearer. Lucy and Jaden’s voices were hushed but tinged with worry. I caught mention of the Academy, and that was all it took for me to yank open the door, only to find them standing in the hallway, heads bent together.

Jaden practically jumped out of her skin, clearly surprised to see us. “Oh, Maddie,” she breathed. “Did we wake you?”

“Well, yeah, you were talking right outside my door,” I said with a half-smile.

Her expression became apologetic. “Sorry. We didn’t mean to. We were just discussing something… Something that can wait until tomorrow when everyone’s had a good night’s sleep.”

My smile fell. I hadn’t missed the inflection within her voice, or the hard glance she’d paid Lucy. I turned to my sister, my brow furrowing when I noticed her pale complexion. Too pale. Clearly, something was wrong.

“Spit it out,” I urged.

“It’s nothing,” Jaden rushed to say before Lucy could speak. “Nothing important, anyway. We can discuss it in the morning.”

“Or we can discuss it now,” I said.

Jaden’s mouth pursed. Obviously, something had happened since we’d last spoken. Something that had very clearly upset her.

I was about to press harder when Lucy sighed and stepped forward. She took my hands in hers and held them tight. That wasn’t a good sign, and my breath caught as I stared down at our joined fingers.

“She deserves to know, Jaden,” Lucy said. “And if we don’t tell her, someone else will. So we might as well be the ones to spill the news.”

Oh god. There was news. And it was obviouslybad, seeing as how Jaden seemed incapable of meeting my gaze now. Great. Just freaking great.

Would we ever get a break? In the few months since I’d met Gabriel, it felt like it’d been one bad thing after another.

Lucy squeezed my hands and drew my attention back to her. “The council knows you and Gabriel are alive. I don’t know how. I assume Adrian informed them. In response, they’ve issued a country-wide statement requiring all slayers to keep an eye out for both of you. And there’s more…” She heaved a deep breath, then looked past me to Gabriel. “They’ve reinstated the bounty on your head.”

The news hit me like a punch to the gut, leaving me momentarily breathless. For a second, everything seemed to freeze, the weight of Lucy’s words pulling me down. Gabriel took a step toward me, his entire presence bristling with tension.

I shook off Lucy’s grip and reached behind me, my right hand clasping Gabriel’s. Anger seethed within me, threatening to explode any second now. “This is bullshit,” I hissed, my rage ready to boil over. “A country-wide statement? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Gabriel squeezed my hand, but that didn’t calm me as he’d likely hoped. The council had already stolen one person I loved. I’d be damned if I let them do it to another.

“Oh, to hell with this,” I fumed. “I’m done. I’m so fucking done withallthis bullshit. They’re the ones who should be running. They’re the ones we should be hunting.”

I released Gabriel’s hand and took to pacing the hallway, if only to burn off a little of the chaotic energy rushing through my veins. I needed to hit something,killsomeone. Preferably five someones.

The frustration boiling inside me was palpable, and I needed somewhere to direct it. If I didn’t, I thought I might burst. I’d never felt so damn angry before in my life. So angry that it felt like my wolf might rip through my skin just so I could sink my fangs into someone’s throat.

“Maybe…” Jaden hedged.

I whirled on my heel and glared at her. “Maybe what?”

Her wide eyes bounced between me and Gabriel. “Nothing. Never mind.”

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