Page 9 of Hitched to the Vampire King

“Maddie?” Gabriel’s eyes scanned the scene—the cages, our surroundings, my bleeding wrist—before settling back on me. “What’s going on? Where are we?”

“What do you remember?” I asked.

His brow knotted. “The Academy. Adrian. A flash of waking up here… Then, nothing but endless darkness, pain, agony. Your voice. It sometimes broke through the haze.” He shuddered and his words faded.

Squeezing his hand, I fought back my rage and filled him in on everything that had happened since I’d woken up here. The details rushed past my lips, each word tumbling one after another until I’d told the entire story.

Gabriel’s expression grew darker, almost murderous, as he listened. “Elias is here? Right now?”

I nodded. “I don’t know why he’s here. He said he wanted to watch you die. But then I think he gave me the idea to feed you my blood. I’m not sure. I’m sorry.”

He gave a grim nod. He cleared his throat and asked, “And what about Chris?”

“I don’t know,” I confessed, a fresh wave of fear crashing into me. “He wasn’t here when I regained consciousness. Maybe he’s being held elsewhere?”

Gabriel’s gray eyes met mine. Despite their contentious relationship, his worry mirrored my own.

“We need to get out of here,” I breathed. “I tried, but I failed. I’m so sorry.”

Fury rippled across his face. “You have nothing to apologize for, luv.”

I almost broke hearing his words. God, I hadn’t realized how badly I’d missed him. How lonely I’d been.

As though sensing the storm of emotions crashing through me, Gabriel squeezed my hand. “It’s okay. You aren’t alone anymore.”

I leaned my head against the bars, then sighed when he did the same. “We have to get out of here,” I told him. “Before Adrian and Elias come back.”

Gabriel stared at the closed door. “Do you know where we are?”

“No, I haven’t seen anything beyond these cages since I woke up here.”

“Alright,” he murmured. “Now that I’m somewhat back to my former self, we can figure a way out of here. Where are the guards?”

“I have no idea,” I admitted. “Elias and Adrian left, and then Elias ordered the guards to prepare for their departure.” I shot Gabriel another pained look. “I think now that Elias is here, Adrian plans to kill us. Usually the guards do two more round before sunrise to, you know, inject you with more holy water?—”

Gabriel’s expression shuttered.

“—but I don’t know if that’s going to happen now, seeing as Elias is here. And I don’t know what time it is, either, or how close to sunrise it is. I’ve lost track of time down here.”

Gabriel reached through the bars and cupped my cheeks. “You are amazing. And we’re going to get out of this, I swear.” He studied my face, then smiled, the tips of his fangs peeking out at me. “Walk me through their process.”

I did exactly that. Gabriel listened intently, nodding along when appropriate. Afterward, he rose to his feet and paced the length of the cage.

“It sounds to me like the best course of action here is to pretend nothing has changed.” He paused and stared at the cage floor. “You said the guards have to enter my cage to give me the injections?”

I silently nodded.

“Then that’s our best shot. They won’t expect me to be awake, so they’ll enter my cage, which gives me the perfect opportunity to attack. I’ll take care of them, then get you out. All you need to do is act the same as you have been this whole time. You said you’ve been in wolf form every time they’ve come down?”

Another nod.

“Are you feeling up to shifting?” Gabriel asked.

Truthfully, no. I was exhausted. Three days of lack of sleep and proper nutrition, along with a substantial blood donation, was wearing on me. I definitely needed alongnap. And maybe a buffet’s worth of food. But what choice did I have? We needed out of here, asap.

“I’ll manage,” I told him.

He studied me, clearly seeing right through my lie. But eventually, he nodded, knowing we really didn’t have any other options. “Okay. You shift, and I’ll play dead. Once the guards enter my cage, I’ll make my move.”

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