Page 72 of Hitched to the Vampire King

I wasdonewaiting. This man had done unthinkable things to me and Gabriel. There would be absolutelynomore waiting.

So at eight-thirty-three p.m., Adrian Roche died at the hands—well,teeth—of me, Madison Smith, werewolf and vampire slayer extraordinaire. And I didn’t regret it one bit.

ChapterTwenty-Five

We burstthrough the safehouse’s front door in a cacophony of raucous laughter and joyous cheers that I suspected the entire neighborhood could hear. The battle was over, and Adrian wasdead. D-E-A-D. Dead!

The utter relief and excitement that coursed through all of us was uncontrollable and infectious. There were hugs and high fives and fist bumps. Jokes and singing and applause. And when no one was looking, some sneaky kisses between me and Gabriel. Of everyone, we were the happiest. His father had done nothing but made our lives miserable for the last few months. Finally,finally, we were free!

The only one who wasn’t quite as happy was Elias. Not that I could blame him. He’d taken a sword to the gut. And even though he was a vampire, that kind of wound took time to heal. Moving seemed a bit painful for him. I did find it hilarious thathewas the only injured member of our party tonight. Guess we’d have to find him some guards to protect his kingly ass.

Lucy stood amid the chaos, her hands cupping Sam’s face as she beamed up at him. When she turned to me, a grin played across her lips. “You lot are louder than a Mardi Gras parade.”

“It’s deserved,” I told her, wincing when Josh and Jaden started belting out the lyrics to “We are the Champions.” If I thought they were tone deaf, it was nothing compared to Elias when he joined in. I almost clapped my hands over my ears.

I was mid-laugh when the sudden ringing of Jaden’s phone interrupted the celebration. She fished her phone out of her pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s Ginny.”

Excitement tore through me. We’d been waiting for her call regarding the council’s arrest. Maybe this would be it?

Jaden answered the call and lifted it to her ear, quickly greeting Ginny. After a moment, Jaden’s mouth split into a wide grin.

“Okay,” she said, “We’ll be there, absolutely.”

Nerves fluttered in my stomach as I anxiously waited for her to hang up. When she did, she stared at me and gaveanotherwhoop. “They’re arresting the council this afternoon. And we get to be there. Ginny says we need to be at the Academy by three p.m.”

I glanced at the time and noted that it was closing in on ten. If we busted our asses, we’d hopefully get back to Jackson with time to spare before sunrise, which meant no transporting Gabriel during the day.

“Okay, crew,” I announced. “Let’s close it up. We have somewhere important to be. Sam, can you call Aimee and thank her for letting us use this place?”

He nodded and reached for his own phone while everyone else scattered to their individual rooms to pack their bags.

It was finally time to go home.

* * *

We madeit to Jackson with two hours to spare until sunrise. After dropping Josh and Jaden off at her place, the rest of us headed home. It felt so nice to walk through that front door and breathe in the familiar surroundings and know thatmybedroom was just down the hall. After all the excitement tonight and then the long car ride, I was definitely feeling the need to relax. And I wasn’t the only one.

“Oh, it’s so good to be home,” Lucy said with a soft sigh as she walked inside.

Sam’s gruff grunt brought a smile to my lips. I’d say he was too tired to speak, but Sam was just a grunty kind of guy.

“I think I’m going to take a shower, then maybe hit the sack,” I said.

“Bath for me,” Lucy said. “In my own tub with my own bubbles!” She squealed, then tore through the house toward her room where her ensuite tub awaited.

“Come on,” Gabriel murmured behind me. He picked up my bag and carried it into our bedroom, with me following closely behind.

The second we stepped into our room, I flicked on the lights and sighed happily. There really wasn’t anything quite like home. I stepped up behind Gabriel and slid my arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around mine and held tight.

“I can’t believe this is almost over,” I said.

“I wish I could be there to watch the police arrest the council tomorrow.”

“I’ll video it for you,” I said, chuckling. Because that was a memory I was going to wantforever.

Gabriel turned and pulled me into a hug. I rested my head against his chest and just…breathed. All the stress I’d been carrying sloughed off. Adrian was dead. And soon Elias would take over as king. We were free—well, almost. But close enough that I wanted to celebrate.

Lucy’s and my earlier conversation about the eternal kiss came back to me, and I considered my options once more. She was right, there was no rush. But standing here with Gabriel, while nestled in his arms, I realized this was exactly where I wanted to be. And not just for my life, but for eternity. Yes, I would eventually lose my friends and family—that was inevitable even if I remained mortal. But if I chose to remain mortal, then Gabriel would have to watchmedie. And I couldn’t do that to him. Not when we had a chance to be together forever.

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