Chapter Twenty-Six
Madison hurried down the hall without looking back, afraid she’d find Simon there racing up behind her.
She couldn’t face him right then, not until she’d had a minute to digest his words. They were mated.
Opening her door, Madison entered her apartment, her gaze falling on the bare mattress of the bed. Her face heated up when she took in the disarray her surroundings were in.
The sheets and covers lay at the foot of the bed in a tangled mess. Her hair brush, along with several other knickknacks, were scattered around the floor near the dresser, and the cushions of her favorite chair were missing.
Madison closed the door and leaned her weight against it. If she were being completely honest with herself, she’d known somewhere in the midst of their passion that what she and Simon had done would bond her to him. She’d just been too far gone to think about it. Well, she was thinking about it now.
She pushed away from the door and made her way into the bathroom, only to come up short when Simon’s breathtakingly masculine scent engulfed her. Her nipples began to harden on cue.
“Bloody hell.” Blowing out a trembling breath, Madison stepped in front of the mirror. Her eyes had a reddish glow about them, matched only by the white fangs peeking out from her top lip. She had become the very thing she’d never wanted to be.
Madison acknowledged something else in that moment; she couldn’t simply walk out into the sun as Laya had over two thousand years ago. To do so would doom Simon as well. They were now mated.
Refusing to think on it too much, Madison washed her face, pulled her hair back into a ponytail, and spun back toward her bedroom.
She jerked the duffle bag of weapons from underneath her bed, checked the ammunition and then rushed back to the security hub. “I’m ready.”
Madison could feel Simon’s gaze on her, but she refused to look at him; not with her emotions on the raw side.
She turned to Sawyer. “Who all is going with us?”
“I really think you should stay here,” Simon interjected, forcing Madison’s attention on him. “It’s too much of a risk.”
The feel of Simon’s body moving inside hers flashed through Madison’s mind. She pushed the thoughts aside, refusing to entertain the lustful memories. “I know you’re worried about me, and I appreciate the sentiment. But that rose water-smelling bitch fed from me against my will, tortured me and then took my life. I deserve my revenge.”
Something shifted in Simon’s pale blue gaze; an understanding of sorts, and something else that Madison couldn’t name.
He blew out a defeated breath. “Promise me one thing.”
Madison raised an eyebrow.
“Promise me you’ll stay by my side no matter what. Svetlana isn’t the only danger we’ll have to face.”
“I’m more than aware of how deadly the warlocks are,” Madison assured him.
Sawyer piped in, a faraway look in his eyes. “Death isn’t the worst that can happen to a being. There are things far more horrific.”
Madison knew that Sawyer spoke from experience. She opened her mouth to question him further when a dark-haired vampire, wearing a leather jacket stepped into the room.
“Are you ladies about ready to saddle up?” the stranger remarked right off the bat. “Roman secured us a place on Decatur Street. We need to get a move on if we want to make it there by four AM.”
Another vampire entered the room, his hair nearly as dark as the first. He sent Madison a warm smile and extended his hand. “Angelo Dimitrov, but my friends call me Angel. And the ugly guy in front of me is my mate’s cousin, Shon Wells.”
Madison accepted Angelo’s palm. “Madison Wilson.”
Shon flashed a grin in Madison’s direction. “Did you say Madison Wilson?”
A younger version of Simon, Madison thought, easily returning his smile. “I did. And no, my parents didn’t hate me.”
Simon stepped forward, irritation evident in his tone. “Enough pleasantries. We best get on the road.”
“Is the Impaler coming with us?” Sawyer pushed back his chair and rose.
Madison nearly swallowed her tongue. “Vlad is here?”
The Impaler himself suddenly entered the room. “In the flesh, as it were.”
Madison found herself staring up into the sky-blue eyes of one of the most beautiful yet commanding beings she’d ever beheld. She attempted to speak, but the words stuck in her throat.
“He tends to have that effect on women,” Shon quipped, clapping Vlad on the shoulder. “And even most men. Not me, mind you, but most.”
The corner of Vlad’s mouth lifted. He took hold of Madison’s hand, lifted it to his lips, and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “Do not believe everything young Shon tells you.”
Madison could practically feel the tension coming from Simon as Vlad released her hand. She cleared her throat and held the Impaler’s gaze. “Madison Wilson. It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Likewise.” Vlad flicked a glance in Simon’s direction. “Are we ready to depart?”
Simon blurred his way to the door. “We are.”
“Is Roman coming with us?” Madison followed the rest of the crowd into the hall.
Vlad shook his head. “He will be staying behind with his mate and daughter. Niko and Alex will also stay in case Svetlana decides to return before we reach New Orleans.”
Madison hadn’t thought of that. “We’d better hurry.”