Page 11 of Hitched to the Vampire King
Brutal and efficient—and I loved every moment of it.
“Oh, shit,” the other vamp muttered.
My attention shot to the second guard, who stood frozen, his earlier bravado dissolving into a pool of fear. The tables had turned, and he knew it. Gabriel’s cage sat wide open, and the guard with the keys lay in a heap at Gabriel’s feet.
Realizing his options were to run or die, the guard bolted for the door. Except Gabriel, hyped up on werewolf blood, was faster. Before the vamp could even reach for the handle, Gabriel had him by the throat.
“Liege, please,” the vamp stammered.
With a savage snarl, Gabriel crushed the guard’s throat. Vamps didn’t need air to breathe, but they certainly needed it to speak. And without a working esophagus, the vamp couldn’t call for help or alert anyone to our escape.
“Liege,” Gabriel repeated, disgust dripping from his words. He leaned close, their noses practically touching. “You are a traitor, and do you know what I do to traitors?”
I couldn’t see the vamp’s face, not with his back to me, but I caught the tremble that worked through his body. Apparently, he knew exactly what Gabriel did to traitors. I didn’t. But I could guess.
Gabriel gripped the vamp’s head, and with a sharp pull, divorced it from the rest of his body—which was just my nice way of saying he beheaded his disloyal subject. The guard’s body slowly slumped to the floor, and Gabriel casually tossed his head aside like it was nothing more than a tennis ball. It bounced off the wall, then rolled a few feet across the floor before coming to a stop.
Eh. Better him than us.
I quickly shifted back into human form and dressed while Gabriel hurried back to his cage and stole the keys from the first guard. I’d just finished putting on my boots when Gabriel strode out of his cage, a second head in hand. He tossed it aside with the other, then quickly unlocked the door to my cage.
The moment he pulled open my cage door, the weight of the past few days crashed into me all at once. But the fear, the anger, the desperation all melted away the instant Gabriel stepped into my space, his presence a sudden and overwhelming relief. For the first time in days, there were no metal bars separating us and no holy water coursing through his veins.
For a moment, we simply stood there, staring at each other, the silence between us speaking volumes. Then, without a word, Gabriel swept me into his arms. I buried my face against his chest and breathed him in, his familiar scent cutting through the lingering stench of death and decay. Tears pricked at my eyes, but I refused to let myself cry. Not here. Not now. That would come later when we were safe.
“I thought I was going to lose you,” I whispered, my voice muffled by his shirt.
Gabriel’s arms tightened around me. “Never,” he said, his voice a low rumble.
I lifted my head and stared up at him. He gently cupped my face before he leaned down and kissed me. My eyes immediately closed, and I sank into him, reveling in the feel of his lips against mine. Adrian had held us captive here for days, and during that time, my thoughts had gone to a dark place. I had no idea what the future held for us—Istilldidn’t—but standing here in his arms, my thoughts didn’t feel so dark anymore. He was my light. My hope.
The concrete room faded into nothingness, leaving only the warmth of his lips on mine. I wound my arms around his neck and slid my hands into his hair, my fingers curling in his silky strands. Gabriel deepened the kiss, his tongue stroking mine with a possessiveness that made me groan. But now wasn’t the time for this, and it took all my willpower to finally pull away.
“Later,” I assured him. Because therewouldbe a later—a thought that strengthened me. “I’m afraid to say this, but I think escaping the cages was the easiest part. Now we have to escape the rest.”
Gabriel’s nod was solemn, an acknowledgement of the reality that lay ahead of us. This room was our prison, but in a way, we were also safe in here. At least, until Adrian and Elias returned. We had no idea what lurked beyond. Hell, we didn’t even know where we were. If we were still in Jackson or not.
Butwe were together. And right now, that unity made me feel whole.
He took my hand, intertwining our fingers with a fierce grip. Then we turned toward the door. The first step was the easiest, but my body tensed with every step afterward. Thanks to my sensitive hearing, I knew there wasn’t anyone beyond the door, but that didn’t mean the situation would stay that way.
“You ready?” Gabriel asked once we reached the door.
I gave my own determined nod.
“Then let’s do this.”
* * *
Steppingthrough the door felt like crossing into another world. Gone was the dark, musty atmosphere, now replaced with…well, a bit brighter and less musty atmosphere. Truthfully, there wasn’t much improvement at all. I frowned as we edged into a dimly lit hallway, one lined with a series of closed doors.
I lifted my chin and drew in a deep breath, picking apart the plethora of scents. Concrete, wood, and was that fur?
“Where the hell are we?” I whispered so quietly Gabriel had to crook his head in my direction to catch my words.
Gabriel’s gaze scanned our surroundings, a frown furrowing his brow. “I’ve no idea.”
I eyed the doors once more, the fear that Chris might be behind one of them kicking in. It was the only explanation I could think of, since he wasn’t in the same room as us. A part of me—the part that used to love watching horror movies—told me to keep moving. That opening these doors was just asking for trouble. But the other part of meknewI could never leave this place without searching for Chris first. There was no way in hell I would ever leave him here.
