Chapter 25
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 was dead. 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 that he was 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 gave another whoop. “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 that my bedroom 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 want forever.
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 watch me die. And I couldn’t do that to him. Not when we had a chance to be together forever.
“You’re so quiet,” Gabriel commented. “What are you thinking about?”
“You. Me. Us.”
Gabriel laughed, his body shaking against mine. “Well, that’s specific.”
I tipped my head back and gazed up at him, memorizing his face. “I was thinking about the eternal kiss, actually.”
His brows shot upward. “I honestly didn’t expect that to be your answer.”
“What’d you think I was thinking about?”
“Food,” he said without any hesitation.
My stomach chose that moment to rumble, and I laughed. “Food’s always on my mind. But no, I was thinking about something else for once.”
“That so?” he asked as he leaned down and pressed his lips against my throat.
I chuckled—it didn’t take a genius to know where his thoughts had strayed. “I think… I think I want to do it,” I said, my voice soft.
Gabriel paused, then he pulled back to meet my gaze. “What?”
I took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking about it. Lucy and I chatted about it for a bit too. And I think I want it.”
Excitement flared in Gabriel’s eyes, but he didn’t move. Instead, he asked, “Are you sure? I don’t want you to regret this decision, because it’s irreversible.”
I laughed nervously, then wiped my clammy hands against my thighs. “Yeah, it’s a pretty big decision. But I—I’m sure.”
Gabriel hooked a finger under my chin and lifted my head. “You know I would never force this choice on you. The eternal kiss will always be an option. But it isn’t something we have to jump on right this second. If you need more time to consider this?—”
“I don’t,” I assured him, finding strength in my resolve. “But do you need time? I love you, Gabriel, more than anything. I never thought I’d be so lucky as to find someone I would want to spend eternity with. But if we do this, if we take this step, then you will be stuck with me forever,” I said, laughing. “So, I guess what I need to know is, do you want this? Do you want me for the rest of your immortal life?”
“More than anything,” Gabriel said without any hesitation. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I met you. After Camilla died, I closed myself off. I told myself to keep everyone at a distance for fear of getting burned. But then you came into my life, and you tore down every single defense I had in place. The shape of our future doesn’t matter to me, Maddie, so long as it’s with you.”
His declaration resolved my lingering doubts. I pressed closer, sealing my decision with a kiss that spoke volumes. But before he could deepen the kiss, I pulled back and said, “Let’s do it then.”
Gabriel blinked. “What, like right now?”
“Right now,” I repeated, before I lost my nerve.
He paused, clearly considering my words. Just when I thought he was going to say no, his expression shifted, and his gaze softened. “Hmm,” he murmured. “What if we were to wait…just a bit longer? Say, a year?”
I frowned. “A year? Why so long?”
He smiled, a hint of excitement playing at the edges of his lips. “I want to make it special, and there’s one specific night I have in mind—one that would be perfect for us.”
My brow knotted. What on earth was he talking about? A specific night in one year?
He chuckled, his eyes shining with mischief. “Trust me, Maddie. A year would give us the time to plan everything out, invite all our loved ones, and do this right.”
My eyes shot wide, and I stepped back. “Wait. You want to invite our loved ones to watch us share blood?” I did not love that idea. At all.
“No, not for that part,” he clarified quickly, his laughter easing my concerns. “I want to invite our loved ones to watch us marry. The blood sharing would happen later that evening on our wedding night.”
For a split second, my mind reeled, caught in a whirlwind of shock and disbelief. Had I heard him correctly? Or maybe my brain was playing tricks on me. “Marry, as in you and me? As in…you want to marry me?”
“Mm-hmm,” he murmured, brushing a light kiss against my lips. “I, Gabriel Roche, soon-to-be former Vampire King, want nothing more than to marry you, Madison Smith, werewolf, vampire slayer, and the love of my life. The question is, will you marry me?”
The initial shock melted away, and excitement swept through me. I couldn’t contain the grin that spread across my face at the thought of marrying Gabriel. A wedding. Us, standing together, reciting vows in front of our loved ones. The picture that started to form in my head was beautiful, and I couldn’t wait to see it come to life. I wanted to scream yes. But I couldn’t make it that easy for him.
“Hmm. I don’t know,” I teased, tapping my mouth with my index finger. “Do you have a ring? Isn’t that required in these sorts of situations?”
“I actually do have a ring,” Gabriel said, surprising me yet again.
“You do?”
The tips of his fangs flashed at me when he grinned. “I do. It’s just not here. It’s in England, with the rest of my valuable possessions.”
“Oh.” I burst out laughing. For a moment there, I’d thought he’d actually had one on his person, which would have raised so many questions. Like where he’d gotten one and when he’d found the time amidst all the chaos and kidnappings to go shopping.
“So, Ms. Madison Smith? Will you do me the honor of becoming Mrs. Madison Smith? Or Roche, if you so prefer.”
I definitely preferred the idea of taking his name. It gave me a sense of belonging. To this day, I had no idea who’d named me. I just knew Smith had never felt right. It was nothing more than a simple name for an unloved baby.
“Definitely Roche,” I told Gabriel, grinning.
“Is that a yes, then?” he asked.
“Yes,” I breathed out, the word a vow in itself. “It’s one thousand percent a yes.”
Whooping with joy, Gabriel lifted me off my feet and spun me around, the bedroom blurring before my eyes. His excitement had me laughing as I clung to him. But that excitement soon blossomed into passion when his mouth met mine and his hands slid beneath my clothes.
We weren’t in New Orleans anymore, nor confined inside a small safehouse, so I saw no reason to stop him.
* * *
The next afternoon,while my fiancé slept away the daylight hours, Jaden, Josh, Ginny, and I stood outside the Academy. I leaned against a nearby cop car, my phone out as we waited for the moment the police dragged the council out in cuffs.
A heartbeat later, the front doors flew open, and I lifted my phone and pressed record. One by one, the police escorted the council members out. Damien came first, followed by Lorraine, then Sylvia, Elaine, and lastly, Harold. Oh, it was a beautiful sight; the sun catching off their metal bracelets and illuminating the looks of utter horror on their faces.
Seeing them arrested didn’t feel quite as great as I imagined killing them would have felt, but I had to play by the rules here. They were human, and the Academy fell under human jurisdiction. If I’d killed them—no matter how badly I wanted to—it would have made me a hypocrite and a murderer. I had to let human law handle this, much to my dismay.
Zooming in on Damien’s face, I chuckled and shouted, “Say cheese!” just so he’d know we were here. His eyes widened at the sight of us, but it was the utter devastation on Lorraine’s face when she saw Ginny standing next to me that broke my heart.
“Thank you,” I said, bumping her shoulder with mine.
She threw me a quick glance, then returned to staring at her aunt. “Don’t thank me. I did what was right. My aunt brought this on herself.”
Before I could reply, Sergeant Brady, who we met when we first arrived, marched over to us. He caught sight of my phone and offered a dry smirk. “Making a home video?”
“Just documenting the fall of the Academy’s so-called finest,” I replied, slipping the phone into my pocket. “For posterity.”
He nodded, his expression turning serious. “This is just the beginning. The Academy is being thoroughly investigated. We’ve got a long road ahead to root out everyone involved in these…transactions.”
Jaden crossed her arms, her gaze sharp. “How deep does it go?”
“We’re still unraveling that,” Brady admitted. “But make no mistake, anyone who had a hand in or turned a blind eye to these contracts is going down. The Academy’s been playing fast and loose with lives, and that ends now.”
Josh stepped forward, his voice low. “What about all the innocent vampires affected by this?”
Brady’s jaw tightened. “We’re compiling a list, cross-referencing missing persons’ reports, and any unsolved cases that might fit the pattern. It’s going to take time, but we’re committed to making it right.”
I leaned back against the cop car, the weight of the situation settling over me.
Brady appraised each of us. “You’ve done good work. Unofficially, you’ve saved lives. Officially,” he paused, choosing his words, “let’s just say the Academy’s days of unchecked power are over.”
As he walked away to oversee the detainment of the council members, I turned back to my friends, a mix of emotions swirling within me. Relief, certainly, at the sight of justice being served. But there was also a profound sense of gravity, a realization of how close we’d come to losing so much more.
“What’ll happen to the Academy now?” Ginny asked.
I had no idea. First, we’d have to see if it survived the investigation. If not, the future of vampire policing would fall in Elias’s hands when he took over as king.
When no one answered, Ginny wished us goodbye and vanished into the surrounding crowd. The council’s arrest had attracted quite a few onlookers.
“Come on, let’s get outta here,” Jaden said, slinging her arm around our shoulders. “I’m craving ice cream.”
I shot my two best friends a grin and said, “That sounds delightful. And maybe you can help me start planning something.”
“Oh?” Jaden asked. “What are we planning?”
“Nothing big,” I assured her, my smile widening. “Just my wedding.”
Jaden’s deafening squeal echoed through the streets and my ears. Laughing, the three of us walked away from the Academy, perhaps forever, and toward our unknown future.