Page 16 of Maddie

Maddie grabbed Noah by the shoulders. “Mortal!” she hissed. “Wake up.”

He groaned, his breath ragged. At least he wasn’t dead … yet. His tan skin grew paler by the second. She had to get him home because he was running out of time. Once she got him there, she could … what? She wasn’t a human doctor. She didn’t have a way to give him a blood transfusion, and he sure wouldn’t last long enough for her to get him out of Wonderland and to a hospital.

There was one way to save him, though…

The cool steel of a knife was at her throat, interrupting her thoughts. “Osanna said to clean his body up,” Robin growled in a low voice. “Not turn him.”

“Deepest apologies,” Maddie said. “I shall carry him out the door then.”

As soon as the blade was lifted, Maddie whirled around and ripped the knife from Robin’s hand. “After I kill you, that is,” Maddie sang. Then she shoved the blade into the female’s heart. The housekeeper’s body collapsed to the floor, her eyes closed. She knew she should leave things how they were, but the need for revenge pulsed through her. Maddie searched around for something to decapitate Robin with, but the walls were bare of anything useful and the knife, too small. So she would just get messy. She gripped Robin’s head between her hands and twisted it hard to the right, tearing it from her body. Thick blood spilled from Robin’s neck, and Maddie tossed the head on the floor beside the vampire’s still body with a sickeningthump.

Shrugging, she spun to face Noah. Enough time had been wasted. Maddie didn’t think—she brought her wrist to her mouth and sank her fangs into her flesh. A slight sting came as she bit down, hot crimson blossoming to the surface. She shoved her wrist to Noah’s mouth, and it took a moment for his lips to move. But she knew as soon as a drop touched his tongue, he would crave it. She knew because she remembered that first taste when Rav had held his wrist to her mouth, when ecstasy rolled over her in waves, how she wanted more and more of his blood, him inside her. Thebastard…

And then Noah’s lips brushed her flesh in an almost caress, drawing her away from thinking about Rav. Noah flicked the tip of his tongue across her skin, his lids closed, as he began to suck. His eyes fluttered while he groaned. It felt just as good to her as she knew it did for him, maybe even better than making a hat.

But a mortal who hadn’t changed yet didn’t have the control to stop on their own, so she forced herself to rip her arm away when she’d given him enough. “You don’t want to bleed me dry because then how would we help you-know-who?” Maddie whispered.

Noah’s eyes cracked open, dazed, but his skin wasn’t as pale as before.

“Now, off we go.”

He mumbled something when she pulled him to stand. His body sagged as he leaned his weight on her. Maddie helped him wrap an arm across her shoulder and she looped hers around his waist.

Osanna was a bitch and Imogen’s friend, but Maddie truly didn’t think she would’ve drunk him almost dry. And why should Maddie care anyway? Noah was just a mortal who was getting in the way of her trying to help her sister. Besides, Mouse had asked Ferris to save Alice, not Noah.

And then… Maddie had done the one thing Ever was fighting against: turning mortals into vampires without their consent. But if she hadn’t, he would’ve died, which was a practice generally accepted by both her and Ever. Dying was a natural part of life, but being turned wasn’t, so it should always be the human’s choice. However, she didn’twanthim to die, even when he made her life harder than it already was. He might still die though, if his body wasn’t made for the transition…

As Maddie and Noah left Osanna’s and hobbled down street after street, the sky became a lighter shade of gray. A storm of bats beat their wings as they flew above, their squeaks echoing across the city. When Maddie had first brought her sister to Wonderland, Mouse had wanted to keep one for a pet. Maddie would’ve gotten her one too, but those bastards were impossible to catch.

Noah groaned, his pace slow, his weight becoming heavier.

“Keep going,” she said, lifting and tugging him along. “You’re lucky I returned when I did.” If she’d left him at her cottage, he wouldn’t be in this position. But all things happened for a reason, good or bad. If he’d had enough strength to hold onto her, she would’ve attempted to carry him on her back.

It didn’t take much longer for her cottage to slip into view. A light fog covered the rose garden surrounding her home. They walked through the light mist with baby steps until she finally thrust open the door.

She stumbled into her home with Noah in tow. As his body started to slump, she thought about just dropping him there on the floor for now. She used more of her strength instead and picked him up, cradling him in her arms. She should’ve probably just done this earlier—it would’ve been easier. Vampire strength and speed were highly advanced, but a pity it only lasted short increments before a rest was necessary. She could’ve handled the distance to her cottage, however.

With a sharp turn, she sat him on the settee, his body collapsing into the cushion. She wiped a hand across her cheek with a sigh. “How about wenotplay that game again, all right?”

Beads of perspiration dotted Noah’s upper lip and forehead. Bloody hell, what a nuisance he was. She still needed to meet with Ferris, but now she must tend to this mortal to make sure his arse didn’t die. It was all for Mouse because this was what her sister would’ve wanted her to do.

She stared at his features—the light stubble on his face, his square jaw, his plump lips. Then her gaze dipped to his tight black shirt, his broad chest, his muscular arms—she couldn’t help noticing how attractive he was. So different than that picture Imogen and Rav had showed her of when he was younger. What had happened to him? Damn. Now she had questions for him about his magical transformation.

Maddie stepped over rolls of tulle and a pile of cut squares of different furs and leathers. She picked up a piece of cloth and poured cool water from the pitcher onto it. She then walked back to Noah and placed it on his forehead. There would be blood bags in her ice chest for when he woke, and she still had boxes of bottled powdered blood for emergencies if he needed them. Once he was well enough, she would need to find a live donor and teach him how to feed properly. Alice would eventually need that too.

She propped her fists on her hips and stared down at him. “There, all better.” She was about to call it good and begin working on a new fascinator until he needed her, when his hand gripped her wrist.

Already?

Noah released another groan and drew her toward him. His groans were starting to sound like those zombie films mortals tended to watch.

With a strong tug, he pulled her into his lap, and she squeaked when her legs straddled his thighs. She arched a brow as his strong hands gripped her waist, his fingers digging into her hips. His eyes were still shut.

And then she felt his cock against her, hard and ready. Maddie’s breath hitched when he rolled her hips forward. Her heart pounded, all her heat rushing straight to her core. And she wasn’t even sure if she liked this man. But she knew how mortals were during their transition, some more lustful than others.

“Tut, tut, mortal.” She grinned, lifting both his lids so he could see her. “I don’t think this is what you want after such a dreadful day of suffering.”

Maddie released his lids and he blinked. His bright green eyes focused on her and widened, his hands stilling on her hips, his fingers digging in harder.

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