Chapter 24
It was officially go-time.The sun had set, Gabriel was awake, and we were ready to rock ‘n’ roll. The five of us stood across the street from Adrian’s mansion, hidden behind the dense canopy of a live oak tree, characteristic of Esplanade Avenue. The sprawling branches, adorned with hanging vegetation, created an ideal hiding spot, and allowed us to blend seamlessly with the scenery.
“Movement in the house,” Jaden announced.
I nodded. That was expected, seeing as how Adrian didn’t go anywhere without his personal guards. Fortunately for us, we outnumbered them six to five, provided Elias joined our side in the fight. Add in the fact that two of us were werewolves, and I was fairly confident about our chances.
During a quick strategy meeting earlier that night, we’d analyzed some satellite imagery and discovered the house had a massive, fenced backyard. Sam and I decided we would take advantage of that enclosed space to shift into wolf form. At least back there, the fence would hide us from prying human eyes. It meant I couldn’t use any stakes or swords during the fight, but it also gave me more strength and sharper teeth and claws. All the better to behead you with, my dear.
“Is everyone ready?” Gabriel questioned.
A chorus of affirmations rippled through our group, each of us focused on the task at hand. Excitement hummed in the air and sent a shiver rolling down my spine. I lived for moments like these—the adrenaline and the thrill. In my mind, I pictured my wolf anxiously pacing back and forth, eager to run free and hunt some vamps. It was her favorite pastime, after all.
We crossed the street under the cover of darkness, our steps silent against the backdrop of the evening’s usual hum. Thankfully, no one pointed at us and screamed bloody murder, so that was a win. We moved quickly and quietly, slipping through the gate and entering the backyard, exactly as we’d planned. Those of us with supernatural hearing kept an ear out for Adrian’s people, but no one from inside cried out a warning.
Either Elias had kept his word, or he’d betrayed us and Adrian knew we were coming.
Guess we’d find out soon enough.
Once we reached the back door, Gabriel tested the handle and nodded when it turned. That meant Sam and I were up. I was just about to strip out of my clothes when Gabriel appeared before me and cupped my face. He stared into my eyes, silently communicating everything he felt for me, then leaned in for a kiss. The soft touch of his lips against mine had me lifting my hands to cup his. When we finally parted, he held my gaze a moment longer, before finally stepping back.
Sam and I quickly stripped, then immediately shifted, dropping onto all fours. Jaden gathered our clothes and stuffed them into a bag we’d brought for this exact purpose. She tucked it beside the house, so it didn’t weigh anyone down while fighting, then gave a thumbs up.
We waited with bated breath while Gabriel opened the door. One squeak or moan of the hinges would give us away. But thankfully, the door opened without so much as a swish. The dimly lit entryway inside was quiet. Time to move.
Gabriel stepped inside first, sword at the ready, his vampire senses on high alert. Jaden and Josh entered next, leaving Sam and I to pull up the rear guard. We padded silently behind, our keen senses attuned for any hint of danger.
We moved as one unit, a deadly procession making our way through the mansion. Our path took us past a grand doorway and beneath sparkling chandeliers, each step hopefully bringing us closer to our target, who I could hear speaking upstairs right this second. From the sound of his level and peaceful words, he was having a normal conversation with someone.
We were about to turn a corner into the next room when Gabriel suddenly paused and held up a hand, signaling for us to stop. Ahead, the corridor forked, one direction leading toward the kitchen, the other leading upstairs. Adrian was our prime target here tonight, but we wanted to take out the other vampires too. Which meant splitting up to check the entire estate.
Without a word, Jaden and Josh veered left, their steps leading them toward the kitchen. I nudged Sam and jerked my head toward them. They were excellent vampire slayers, but they were human. Having a werewolf on their side couldn’t hurt matters. Sam nodded, then quietly trotted behind them.
Gabriel and I locked eyes for a moment, then broke to the right and headed upstairs, where we could hear Adrian’s voice. Every step we took, Adrian’s scent grew stronger. This was definitely the right direction.
At the top of the stairs, I leaned around the corner and stole a glance down the hall. Not a single vampire in view. I didn’t love that. It suggested they were all camped in the same room as Adrian, making our job a little harder.
Together, Gabriel and I moved forward. Up ahead, a door stood slightly ajar, light spilling into the hallway. Shadows moved in front of the light and we paused, waiting to see if they passed. I lifted my head and sniffed the air, immediately picking up on Adrian’s, Elias’s, and another vampire’s scent. Three against two were good odds. We needed to move fast though. Because if I could smell them, they could surely smell us. It was a miracle they hadn’t noticed yet.
Gabriel approached the door with caution and flattened himself against the wall. He silently counted us down to three, then he stepped forward, pushed open the door, and strode inside with me following right behind.
Adrian immediately whirled around, the surprise on his face rather comical.
Elias stood next to Adrian, the corners of his mouth twitching with amusement. Guess he hadn’t betrayed us after all, much to my pleasure. I’d believed everything he’d said last night, but I hadn’t trusted that he wouldn’t change his mind after returning here. Luckily, my fears seemed to be unfounded.
“What the…?” Adrian muttered before growling at his guards to attack.
Guards, plural. I whirled around in time to catch two shadows streaking toward us. One more than I’d scented in the hallway.
Gabriel was a blur of movement, his sword slicing through the air, just as I leaped forward and collided with the second guard. I rode him to the ground, my massive paws pressed at his throat. The vampire scrambled beneath me, his eyes wide with fear, but I didn’t give those fears time to fester. Instead, I lunged down and sank my teeth into his neck. One quick pull and his head came popping off. I dropped it to the floor just in time to catch Gabriel slicing his sword cleanly through the other vampire’s neck.
In a matter of seconds, we’d demolished Adrian’s guards.
Apparently, we made a rather effective team.
I pushed off the vampire and rose to my feet, stalking toward Adrian. His wide eyes narrowed at the sight of me and he stepped back, drawing his own small blade, one that, unfortunately for him, wouldn’t do much damage to either of us.
At the sound of fighting one level down, Adrian paused, then growled something rather uncomplimentary.
“Tsk, tsk, Father,” Elias quipped in an eerily calm and amused voice. “Such language.”
Adrian must have heard it too, because he snuck a glance over his shoulder to find Elias leaning casually against the wall, his arms and ankles crossed.
An enraged snarl boomed through the room. “You dare betray me?”
Elias shrugged nonchalantly. I bit back a laugh, knowing it would sound a little too much like a wheeze right now. Lucy had once told me I sounded like a cat coughing up a hairball when I laughed in wolf form. The comparison had always stuck with me.
“Betrayal’s a strong word,” Elias commented as he pushed off the wall and started toward me and Gabriel. “I prefer ‘choosing the winning side.’”
Adrian’s face twisted in fury, his gaze darting between his fallen guards, Gabriel, and me.
“It’s over, Adrian,” Gabriel said, hatred darkening his every word. He held his sword out, pointed straight at his father. “No more games, no more running. This ends here and now.”
I could feel the tension in the room spike. A showdown was inevitable. Adrian, however, seemed to calculate his slim chances, his eyes flicking to the nearby window as if considering an escape. I stepped forward, just in case he decided to throw himself out of it.
Suddenly, the room erupted into action again—Adrian lunged, not at Gabriel, but at Elias. In movements almost too quick to track, Adrian grabbed Elias by the shoulders and threw him at Gabriel, who still stood with his sword at the ready. The unexpected move shocked us all, but what shocked me more was the sight of Elias stumbling right into Gabriel’s blade, belly first. The sword slid right through him like butter.
The room fell into silence for a brief second while both vampires stared down at their predicament. It wouldn’t kill Elias, but I couldn’t imagine it felt great.
Next came the sound of breaking glass. I whipped my head around in time to watch Adrian throw himself out the window. Exactly as I’d feared.
Cursing inwardly, I bolted after him. We couldn’t let him escape. I refused to fail tonight. Adrian died, no matter what. Gathering my strength, I leapt out the window and fell the two stories. I landed hard on the grass, my legs buckling beneath my weight, but I didn’t pause. Instead, I surged forward, following Adrian’s scent, which led out an open gate and into a back alley.
I heard Gabriel call my name, but I didn’t so much as glance back. Adrian had to die. I wouldn’t accept any other outcome.
Darting into the alleyway, my paws pounded against the pavement, each step propelling me closer. Adrian was quick, but nothing was faster than a werewolf on a mission, not even a desperate vampire.
He weaved through the alleys like a man possessed, but even vampires had limits, especially when panic set in. His erratic movements were a clear sign of his scattered focus, not the calculated escape of a seasoned predator.
He turned down another alley, and I followed a heartbeat later, aware of the sound of footsteps chasing behind us. I couldn’t risk looking back, but my gut told me it was Gabriel and the others following in pursuit.
I pressed hard, chasing Adrian down another alley. Just as he was about to scale a fence, I leapt into the air and launched myself at him. My aim was perfect, and the two of us collided together, then crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.
Adrian’s counter was swift. Somehow, he managed to tuck his legs beneath me, and he kicked, launching me into the air. I suffered a brief moment of weightlessness before I slammed into the brick wall of a neighboring house and dropped to the ground. Pain exploded within me, centering primarily on my ribs and shoulder. I refused to let it slow me though. Pain was temporary, but the satisfaction of killing Adrian would last forever.
I picked myself up just as Adrian scrambled to his feet. Before he could take off again, I darted back into battle. I lunged at him and snapped my mouth closed around his thigh. Adrian’s scream came immediately, but it was nothing compared to the screams that followed when I heaved him in the air and shook him about like a rag doll. My fangs shredded through his flesh and pierced muscle. When his blood filled my mouth, I threw him to the ground.
Adrian slowly rolled over, his leg barely hanging onto the rest of his body. His face was bloodless, and there was a fear in his eyes that told me he knew how this would end.
“Maddie,” Gabriel called behind me.
I turned to find everyone had formed a semi-circle around us, blocking me from sight in case a human came out to investigate. Gabriel stood next to Sam, his gaze locked on me. I knew he wanted to deliver the kill, so I waited. But at the sight of his nod, I turned back to Adrian, my lips curling up to expose my monstrous fangs. Fangs I had every intention of using to rip his head off.
Adrian’s eyes darted from me to Gabriel, then back to me. He lifted his hands in a pleading gesture and begged, “Wait, wait, wait…”
No.
I was done waiting. This man had done unthinkable things to me and Gabriel. There would be absolutely no more 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.