Stolen Soul

“Marcus, did you hear me?”, Maddison asked thinking he may not have. “The woman from the club, who was she?”.

Marcus stayed silent for a while longer and just when Maddison was about to nudge him with her finger, he opened his eyes and looked at her.

“Her name is Claudette”, he replied, saying the other woman’s name with what sounded like barely contained hatred.

“And who is she…an ‘old’ girlfriend?”, Maddison pushed, emphasizing the ‘old’ part and she blushed as she realised just how jealous she sounded.

Marcus’ hand tightened at her waist under the bed-sheet as he shook his head.

“No. For just over two hundred years Claudette was my captor, she enslaved me when I was weak and still partially human. She tortured me and I despise her for that. When I finally managed to escape her, I killed her lover, James…I guess she is here for revenge, amongst other things”.

“What other things and where has she come from?”, Maddison asked, sliding closer to Marcus.

“I managed to get some information out of her mind but it was difficult. She’s around two hundred and fifty years older than me and much stronger but I discovered that she is here for a meeting of the elders to discuss various issues going on in Europe and the United States, she herself is from France”.

At the mention of the country they needed to go to Maddison suddenly sat up.

“Maybe she is linked to all of this somehow…where are my books?”, she muttered, going to move off the bed but Marcus caught her and hauled her back to his side.

“Do that later, I want you again and besides, you can research when I sleep”, he told her and Maddison melted.

They made love again but more slowly this time and Maddison felt cherished and adored, feelings that she would have never expected to experience from being with someone like Marcus.

She felt a bond with him that couldn’t easily be explained and as he entered her body she somehow knew that this had always been meant to happen, that this was her destiny…he was her destiny.

ooOoo

Outside Marcus’ house, Marianne fumed. She had known that Maddison was up to something with all the extra research and from the way she had been acting so flighty and had decided to follow her, feigning illness so that her daughter wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Oh Maddie”, she murmured.

Her daughter was going to bring shame upon the family name, consorting with a vampire this way.

The sect would probably banish them both for this.

On sensing that Maddison was in no danger, quite the opposite in fact, she turned to head back to the mansion. She would wait until Maddison returned home to confront her.

ooOoo

Much later, as dawn approached, Maddison leaned over a sleepy Marcus and touched a hand to his face gently.

“I have to go soon”, she whispered, her mouth against his lips and he nodded.

“I will miss you”, he told her truthfully, wanting her to stay with him.

“We still haven’t decided how we’re going to get to Paris”, Maddison said, slipping from the bed to get dressed and Marcus watched her, trying to reign in his hunger at the sight of her naked form.

“We’ll discuss it tonight”, he promised and Maddison raised an eyebrow at him.

“Well you had better keep your hands to yourself when I get back here then otherwise nothing will get discussed”, she chided and Marcus grinned.

“I’ll be good”, he said, but there was a wicked glint in his eyes and Maddison sighed.

When she was finished dressing she scooped up her untouched back-pack and then bent to kiss Marcus.

He threaded a hand into her hair and anchored his mouth to hers in yet another breath stealing kiss.

When they finally broke apart Maddison moved dreamily to the door.

“I’ll see you later”, she said and Marcus nodded.

He waited until he heard the front door shut and then he closed his eyes and let the sleep he needed overtake him.

ooOoo

Back at the mansion, Marianne had gone to Michael’s room and despite him being in bed with Alexandria had insisted that she talk to them right away.

“Maddison is in trouble”, she told them and Michael looked at her.

“How? I thought she was in bed”, he replied, trying to ignore the way Alexandria was curling her legs across his under the sheets.

“She has been acting quite suspicious lately and do you not agree that the way she gave up her ‘Marcus Baker’ fascination was just a little too readily done?”, Marianne said, frowning at Alexandria, who seemed unable to leave Michael’s body alone.

Marianne understood that when the full moon was near, their wants and desires all but ruled them but she needed them to concentrate.

“After our encounter with Baker in Harrods and Maddison told Marcus to get lost, I haven’t really thought further on the matter”, Michael replied and Marianne sighed.

“I followed her last night…she’s been with Marcus for hours. We must stop whatever game she is playing before he kills her”.

“We are useless to you at the moment”, Michael said glumly as Alexandria caressed his chest and he groaned as his carnal desires rushed through him once more.

“I will lock her in her room until you are ready to watch her again”, Marianne said and Michael nodded his agreement but Marianne was not 100 that he had really took in what she had told him as he seemed to be totally distracted by Alexandria’s touch.

Shaking her head she left them to it and went to Maddison’s bedroom to await her return. It wasn’t their fault that they were acting as they were, but it was damn inconvenient!

Sometime later she heard her daughter beginning to clamber up the drainpipe and so she moved to one side of the window to surprise Maddison once she got inside the room.

oo

Maddison eased herself through the window and breathed a sigh of relief as she dropped her back pack onto the floor of her room.

She bent to take her boots off and gasped in fright as a shadow moved out from the curtains.

Her hand flew to her mouth to stop herself crying out and she let out a muffled laugh in relief when she saw it was only her mother.

Then she began to panic.

“Don’t even try and lie to me Maddison. I know that you have been with him…all night”, Marianne said and Maddison’s heart hammered in her chest at the discover that she had been found out.

“Do you have any idea what will happen if the other members of the sect find out what you have been doing?”, Marianne asked, her voice getting louder and louder as her temper flared.

“Mum, you don’t understand…let me explain….”, Maddison tried but Marianne shook her head.

“You will stay in this room until I decide what is to be done with you”, she said. She turned to the window and cast a spell and the window disappeared completely and was replaced by solid brick.

“You can forget trying to leave that way in future”, Marianne said, stalking to the door and Maddison watched, her mouth hanging open as her mother left and then locked the door from the outside.

Maddison flopped down on her bed and groaned loudly.

“Now what do I do?”, she muttered to herself.

ooOoo

Marcus paced the floor of his lounge and sighed.

Maddison should have been here by now, it had been dark for hours. Something must have gone on at the mansion and he intended to find out what was keeping her from him.

He tried to link his mind to hers but it was as though something was blocking them.

Growling in frustration he decided to leave but he needed to feed. Because he had spent two nights in bed with Maddie he hadn’t gone out and he remembered that tonight was a full moon and he realised that Michael was going to be in his wolf form and if he had to fight him he would need his strength.

He left the house and decided to head to some of the back alleys of the city were most of the homeless people hung out, the people that sadly, no one missed.

He didn’t have time to go to a club and entice some young woman outside…and to be frank, the idea of that no longer appealed to him, not since he had gotten close to Maddison.

In fact, the whole vampire thing no longer appealed to him. He realised as he walked that he wanted his soul back with a passion. He wanted a normal life and the sooner they got to Paris, the sooner that wish could hopefully come true.

He found an elderly man who looked all but ready to pass anyway and fed on him quickly, convincing himself that he was doing the old guy a favour and then he headed to the mansion.

He hovered up to where Maddison’s window should be and frowned when he saw it was gone, replaced by bricks and he realised that they must have somehow been found out.

He moved to the front doors of the mansion and boldly knocked.

Nothing and no-one would keep him from Maddison, he was determined on that score.

He was relieved nonetheless though when a young woman opened the door. It was Sarah, Maddison’s friend.

“Yes?”, she asked and he quickly took over her thoughts before she could block him.

‘Forget you saw me’, he told her.

Sarah nodded and walked away. Marcus entered the mansion and headed for the stairs, sensing danger all around him and his fangs distended in readiness.

He made it to the first landing before Michael appeared, looking for all intents and purposes like a caveman because he was in the process of changing into wolf-form. He was naked and covered in hair and he growled at Marcus as Alexandria, who was fully changed, curled around his legs protectively.

“Where is she?”, Marcus bit out, his eyes glittering black demonically and Michael showed his enemy his teeth as he replied,

“Somewhere safe from you”, and then suddenly flew at Marcus who moved so quickly that Michael missed him completely and his razor sharp fingernails clawed the fresh air where Marcus had been standing.

“You’ll have to be quicker than that”, Marcus goaded, keeping one eye on Alexandria who was prowling and watching them.

Maddison who heard movement outside on the landing, moved over to the door and pressed her ear against it, gasping when she thought she heard Marcus’ and Michael’s voices.

‘What was Marcus doing here?’, she thought as she frantically rattled the door handle.

She had to get out of her room before he got killed.

She suddenly heard a loud crashing noise and some growling and she stood back from the door and began to chant the frost bolt spell that she had been working on all day.

The magic ice smashed the lock and the door fell open, she raced out onto the landing. Her eyes widened when she saw the huge gap in the railing and she realised that Marcus and Michael must have gone through it as they clashed.

She ran to the edge and sure enough saw Marcus and Michael circling one another in the foyer, Alexandria by Michael’s side, snarling and baring her sharp fangs. She gasped in surprise at seeing Michael’s powerful naked form and as he launched another brutal assault Maddison ran down the stairs, calling out and as Marcus looked up at her, Michael took the chance and slashed his claws across Marcus’ chest.

Luckily Marcus managed to jump back and Michael only succeeded in shredding the front of his shirt.

“Stop it! Both of you!”, Maddison yelled as she approached them but Alexandria moved to block her path and Maddison glared at the she-wolf.

Just then Marianne appeared at the top of the stairs and took in the scene below her in horror.

Casting a spell she threw a bolt of lightening at Marcus but Maddison saw what she was doing and counteracted the lightening with a wave of frost energy so that it dissipated harmlessly before it reached Marcus.

“Maddison!”, Marianne cried but Maddison shook her head at her mother.

“You have to hear me out mum”, she said, before turning to Michael who was snarling at Marcus, “And you”, she said to her guardian, “Move back or I’ll have to freeze Alexandria for a while”.

Her statement made Michael look from Marcus to Maddison and he saw that she had her hand outstretched and ready to freeze his partner if he didn’t do as she asked.

Reluctantly he stepped back and Alexandria moved behind him, her head poking out from behind his knees and she glared at Maddison, her wolf eyes narrowing.

Maddison moved to stand before Marcus, putting herself in between him and the two werewolf’s as her mother descended the stairs.

“What is the meaning of this?”, Marianne snapped. “You would rather side with that…that monster…than with your own family?”.

Maddison heard Marcus snarl behind her and she reached back and grasped his arm, pulling it around her waist.

“One of our ancestors did this to Marcus mum. We made him what he is today and only I can make it right”, Maddison said, glancing at Michael and Alexandria who were watching her warily.

“What do you mean, make it right?”, Marianne asked and Maddison took a deep breath.

“I can give Marcus his soul back…it’s my destiny”.

“Rubbish!”, exclaimed Marianne. “Maddison cant you see that he has wormed his way into your life to just take from you what he needs and then he will cast you aside and move on to some other innocent….”.

“You are wrong”, Marcus said, as his fangs rescinded and his eyes turned back to their normal blue colour.

“I care about Maddison more than you would believe. She has made me believe in things again that I thought were long since lost to me”.

Marianne snorted in disbelief and Maddison’s temper flared.

“I’m sorry mum but I have to do this with or without your blessing. I intend to help Marcus get his soul back and whilst it would have been easier with yours and Michael’s help, as we have to travel to Paris, I understand if you feel you cannot support us, but we ‘will’ go alone if we have to”.

Marianne glared at her daughter and then at the vampire behind her.

She battled against herself for what seemed like an eternity before she finally blew out a frustrated breath.

“Do you have any idea what the other sect members would do if they got wind of this? A vampire in the mansion…dear God…”.

Maddison regarded her mother calmly, determined to stick by Marcus.

Eventually Marianne said,

“Let’s move to the library and you can show me your findings so far”, she muttered and Michael made a strangled sound in the back of his throat.

Marianne turned to him.

“It’s alright Michael, I’m sure Maddison would not allow her vampire to hurt her own mother at least…would you dear?”, she said, looking at Maddison who shook her head.

Michael stared at Marcus and vice versa until they were out of sight and then Maddison, Marianne and Marcus moved to the library.