Chapter 25: Reunited

Madison hurled herself down the stairs, her granddad Noah's cerulean eyes stared up at her, he smiled warmly and held his arms out to her, like he always did when she was little when she would run to him and he'd scoop her up, he held Madison close now and she smiled, he was exactly the same,

' How are you my sweet pea?' he'd always called her that,

' I'm better for seeing my family' he smiled and squeezed her tighter,

' Ready for your mother to spend her money on us?'

' Always' they laughed and walked in to the kitchen together, Noah was filled in on everything Madison had learnt from her other grandfather, he held a look of contempt on his face every time the mans name was mentioned, Madison had always known that Noah had despised Charles from the moment he met him, her nanny Rosa had always called it his gift of knowing, she noticed now it was the same look he had given Drew every time he'd met him. The three of them left her father to his work and spent most of the day shopping, Noah pulled several faces every time her mother held up a patterned jumper for him to try on, she pulled a few herself when her mother held up a baby pink dress,

' No pink mum'

' Why not, you look lovely in pink?'

' Drew made me live in pink and flowers, I can't stand the sight of it mum' her mother nodded and Madison noticed a guilty expression flash across her mums face,

' It's ok mum, you didn't know, we're still sort of reconnecting here'

' I know I just hate that I've missed 5 years of my baby's life' she hugged her mother as Noah walked out of a changing room in a golfers jumper with an incredibly grumpy look on his face, both women bit their lips to stop themselves laughing,

' I'm not wearing this Marla I look ridiculous…I don't even like golf' both women collapsed on the floor in hysterics as he mumbled grumpily and stomped back into the changing rooms.

Madison left the shops with a good haul, she'd tried to sneak off and pay for her own things but her mother wouldn't allow it,

' Madison do not argue with me, I've got 5 years of presents to make up for' she smiled weakly at her granddad who pulled her into a one arm hug.

They got back to the house several hours later, Madison and Noah collapsed onto the sofa exhausted where as Marla had enough energy to keep going and she immediately busied herself in the kitchen, preparing dinner. Edward emerged from his study rubbing his tired eyes,

' How was shopping?'

' Edward I love you like a son and if you have any feelings for me at all, never ever let my daughter take me shopping again'

' Ditto dad' he laughed at the pair of them as Madison kicked the stilettos of her aching feet,

' Come on don't laze about Miles will be here soon, both of you need to change'

' Miles phoned darling he's bringing Rodrigo, I said you wouldn't mind?'

' No that's fine you didn't tell him Maddie was here did you?' she pointed a spoon at Edward threateningly,

' Not a peep darling' she smiled and kissed him on the cheek as she returned to the kitchen, Madison and Noah relaxed back in the chair,

' Get changed!' she bellowed from the kitchen, they both jumped to their feet and hobbled upstairs.

Madison showered and was about to pull some grey trousers on when she heard her mother shout up the stairs,

' Dress smartly both of you' Madison put the trousers down and switched to a black knee length dress, it was slashed diagonally across from one side of her neck to the tip of her opposite shoulder, there was a slit at the side that allowed you to see the bright yellow underlay of the dress, she teamed it with a pair of yellow Jimmy Choo's her mother insisted she had to go with the dress, she let her hair dry into it natural thick, sleek waves and was just finishing her make up when there was a knock at the door,

' Come in'

' You look lovely sweet pea'

' Not looking too shabby your self Noah' she called him Noah because he couldn't stand the formal title of granddad, unlike her grandfather Charles who insisted on grandfather, he smiled at her and the two walked downstairs where her father immediately handed her a whiskey,

' Preparation for a long night?' she joked and he smiled,

' Thought you might be nervous, didn't you Edward?' he nodded and looked sheepish

' Why would I be nervous, it Miles?'

' We are about to have two werewolves for dinner sweet pea'

' Noah I was bounced on the knee's of vampires growing up how much different can it be?' he smiled

' Told you she'd be fine Edward' her father smiled and turned as the doorbell rang, Madison listened to her father talking and laughing, she heard Miles and smiled then a lower, more velvety accented voice caught her attention,

' How many are there of us tonight dad, I can smell someone new?' Miles joked as he walked in the living room, Madison slowly stepped from behind Noah and smiled at her brother, Miles' jaw dropped in shock and he flew across the room at her,

' Miles… I… need… to… breath' she gasped as he caught her in a vice grip hug,

' Sorry Maddie I forget how strong I am'

' Brag much big head' she joked and he pulled her back into a softer hug, he stroked her hair the way he always used to when they were little,

' Good to have you back' he whispered so quietly Madison only just heard him and she squeezed him gently,

' Well now we're all back under one roof' Noah smiled happily and Madison noticed the tall man next to Noah, his eyes were dark, his skin was tanned and his hair was a glossy ebony, he was very handsome,

' Madison this is Rodrigo, he made me' Miles said proudly as Rodrigo stepped forward and took Madison's hand kissing it gently, he never for a second took his dark eyes off her.

They sat round the table, Madison was next to Noah and opposite Rodrigo, she found it hard to hold is gaze and he watched her closely, Edward filled his son and Rodrigo in on what Madison had learnt from Charles, Noah made a noise of contempt at the mention of him,

' What does he want with me?' Miles looked bewildered and turned to his elder,

' He would experiment on you, take your genes and add them to what he's creating, he probably only wants to take you because it would be a dig at your parents for going against him'

' See Edward that's what I said' Noah looked indignantly at his son in law

' I still don't like this, Madison if he contacts you ignore it I don't want you near him again'

' I cant ignore him, he'll know something's going on, he's not going to hurt me I'm no use to him it's Miles' genes he wants, so as long as I keep up the pretence that I don't speak to any of you anymore I'll be fine' Edward moaned and rubbed his eyes again,

' Fine but if he lays a finger on you I'm giving Eric the nod to take him out'

' You can do that?'

' The only thing stopping Eric is me right now'

' Your loyalty to that man still astounds me Edward, he was no father to you' Marla's tone was venomous as she spoke of Charles, Madison was aware Rodrigo was still yet to take his eyes off her, she wondered what he was thinking;

"So you finally trespassed on my thoughts"

Madison choked on the wine she was swallowing and met his eyes; they smiled at her though his mouth hadn't moved,

" How did you know I could do that? How are you doing that? I didn't even know if it worked on wolves?"

"You intrigue me, I've never met anyone in 800 years who could hear my thoughts or communicate with me this way, I wish to speak to you more of this if you will allow me to"

Madison nodded slightly to say yes quickly without alerting anyone else at the table though there was no chance of that as the table had now erupted into an argument,

"Where and when?"

"Tomorrow wait at Notting Hill gate station and I'll meet you there, I have a small place in Notting Hill where we can talk in private"

"Ok what time?"

"Be there at about 1pm" she nodded again and he turned and whispered to Miles,

' Well if you'll excuse Rodrigo and myself we must stretch our legs' the table quietened and Rodrigo inclined his head to everyone and smiled at her, Madison felt the muscles in her lower abdomen tighten, they said their goodnights and Madison went upstairs, she hung out of her top window and lit a cigarette, she'd never had the guts to tell her parents she smoked so this was how she got round it, she thought about Rodrigo, was it safe to go and meet a werewolf? Why did he want to talk to her?