Adrian [Whitedell Pride: 8]

by Catherine Lievens

  So as he and the guys emptied the car and checked for chips, he decided to tell his friends. He knew that if he asked they would keep everything secret. “I was thirty-two when my sister was kidnapped. Delilah was barely more than a baby at twenty, and my parents...they took it hard, so hard. I started looking for Delilah right away, but it took me a year to finally find her. By then my mother had killed herself because she felt guilty. Delilah had been with her at the mall when she was kidnapped, and she had always thought it was her fault. My father followed her soon after. They were true mates, and he lost the little will to live he had had left after my sister disappeared.”

  Joshua could feel his friends’ eyes on him, but he ignored them. He couldn’t look up, because if he did and saw the pity in those eyes, he was going to lose it. He had never cried over his loss, never. He had used the pain to make himself a shell in which he could hide so that nothing would hurt him that bad again. “I found her in a lab similar to those we raided. Sure, they weren’t that advanced, but the things they did in them...it was the same. They experimented. My sister...she was pregnant when I found her. She didn’t live long enough to have the baby, so he died with her. I lost the rest of my family that day.”

  “Is that...is that why you don’t want Adrian? Because in a way he’s like those men who ruined your family?” Casey asked hesitantly, his voice soft.

  “I don’t know...I know he didn’t have anything to do with what happened to her, and I know what he did, he did for his brother. I just feel that if I mate with him, I’ll betray them. How can I be with a man who did the exact same things that were done to Delilah? How can I mate with one of those scientists?”

  Ward snorted. “Are you done commiserating with yourself?” The device in his hand beeped right then and Ward moved whatever it was that had made it beep to the side before continuing, “Okay, so what happened to you is sad, I get that. You lost all your family and I can’t even begin to understand what you went through, but really? Unless your parents and you sister hated you, they would have wanted you to be happy. Adrian isn’t a bad guy, you know that. He did what he did to save his brother, and as Casey said, he quit even knowing that Gabriel might die because of it. He quit because he’s a good guy and he couldn’t stand hurting people anymore. He sacrificed his brother. I get that you’re afraid of loving someone again because they might be taken from you, but you know what? It happens to all of us. I’m scared to death that something could happen to Jamie, especially after he was kidnapped, but the love we share is worth the fear.”

  “What Ward is saying is get your head out of your ass and realize that Adrian didn’t do anything you wouldn’t have done, that he’s the only mate you’ll ever have and that what you could have is definitely worth it. I also suggest you hurry up if you don’t want Adrian to be swept away by someone else.” Casey pointedly looked at the house in which Soren had disappeared with Adrian.

  Joshua didn’t answer. He kept on taking out bags from the car before putting them back in when they were cleared, but he did think about what Ward and Casey had said. He knew that Delilah would have wanted him happy. She would have kicked some sense into him if she’d found out what he was doing to Adrian.

  Joshua chuckled. Yeah, she would have liked Adrian. Joshua might not have spent a lot of time with his mate, but he liked the spitfire attitude. He would never have thought Adrian had it in him. He usually looked so reserved and focused on his work, and he had the biggest heart. Joshua knew how much it had hurt him to continue his experiments, but he had done it for his brother. He’d heard the nightmares Adrian had had last night. He had kept on apologizing in his sleep, and it had broken Joshua’s heart.

  He had to find Gabriel. Even if it was too late and Adrian didn’t want him anymore, he would find Gabriel. Joshua wasn’t sure he could watch Adrian and Soren together, and he was more than a little angry when he thought about the two men together, but he’d been the one too stupid to accept his mate when he could have. He was going to ask Adrian to forgive him for being a stupid ass, then he was going to ask if the man wanted to go out with him. He didn’t want to rush into their mating, not because Adrian was a scientist, but because after what he had done he felt like they should get to know each other before doing anything drastic like mating.

  If Adrian said no...Joshua would let him go. He might have to move, because he didn’t know if his leopard would accept it, but Adrian deserved to be happy, so if that was what he wanted...Joshua might have to leave anyway, to find Gabriel, so Adrian would have the time to think about all this, and Joshua would have the time to deal with his conflicted feelings.

  “Okay, so I found chips in some of the clothes and in Adrian’s laptop,” Casey said. He was already taking apart the laptop, so Joshua turned to the clothes. He found the chips hidden in the seams and managed to take them out without doing too much damage, but Adrian would have to sew back the seams if he wanted to wear them again. They gathered all the chips and Ward called Nysys. The Nix had gone back home, but he came back and got the mission to shimmer the things away. Joshua finished putting everything back into the car and stood there, not knowing what to do.

  Should he get to the door and knock? Or maybe just walk in? What if he walked in on Adrian and Soren being somehow intimate? He wasn’t sure his cat would let Soren walk away without at least trying to bite off a piece of him. Just the thought of what the two might have been doing in that exact moment...

  Luckily for Joshua, he didn’t have to do anything. The door opened and Adrian came out, quickly followed by Soren. Joshua looked him over, trying to find clues his clothes had been taken off at one point, but Adrian was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, so he couldn’t be sure.

  “All done?” Adrian asked, not looking at Joshua. Oh, he had earned everything his mate was giving him, but still. He didn’t like the way Soren was looking at Adrian.

  “Yeah. The guys can go back with Nysys while you and I take the car.”

  * * * *

  This was awkward. Very, very awkward. Adrian had figured Joshua would have jumped on the opportunity to shimmer back to the mansion just to avoid him. He’d thought he would finish this merry trip with Soren, but before the tiger could say anything, Joshua had made it clear he was going to be the one riding with Adrian, which was just plain weird in Adrian’s opinion.

  He looked at the growing sun outside the car’s window, thinking that he really didn’t understand the man who was supposed to be his mate. He would have thought Joshua would have avoided him, so why had he insisted on being in the car with him? Was it only to keep Adrian away from Soren? Was Joshua’s leopard acting up because of what Soren had done?

  Adrian could understand what was happening, and it didn’t actually bother him—much. Yes, it hurt like hell, but he could understand. The thing that did bother him was the tension between them. Even with the kiss they had shared only hours before, Adrian knew there would never be anything more between them. He had understood that from the beginning, and as hard as it was, he was okay with it. He couldn’t force the man to be with him if he didn’t want to, and even if he knew Joshua would be his only mate, it didn’t mean he had to remain single for life. He could find someone else.

  “So, are you and Soren together?”

  Joshua’s voice stopped all thoughts in Adrian’s brain. Had he really just asked what he thought he had? “What?”

  Joshua quickly looked at him, but his face didn’t betray anything. “Are you and Soren together? Are you a couple?”

  Okay, so Adrian had heard him right. “Uh, no. Why do you care anyway? Is it because he’s your friend? Do you want me to stay away from him? You don’t have to worry, I won’t use him as a test subject.”

  Joshua sighed, looking dejected. “That’s not what I was thinking, although I get why you’re thinking that. Look, I’m sorry for everything I said, okay? I was a jerk, and I’m sorry.”

  Adrian gaped. What the heck had happened between Soren ta
king him inside the house and Adrian walking out? Joshua had been with Ward and Casey. Maybe they had tried to talk some sense into him? “O-okay.”

  “I’m serious.” Joshua turned to look at Adrian and Adrian wished he would keep his eyes on the road instead.

  “Yeah, okay. Thank you?” Adrian wasn’t sure what Joshua was expecting.

  “So, do you want to give this a try?”

  “What?”

  The light pink color that appeared on Joshua’s cheeks was as hot as it was surprising. Joshua just didn’t blush—usually.

  “Us. Do you want to give us a try?”

  “You mean...”

  “I mean I want to go out with you.”

  Adrian’s feelings were all over the place. On one hand, he was overjoyed. His mate finally wanted him, and Adrian’s squirrel was squeaking like crazy at the idea. On the other hand, though, Adrian couldn’t help but wonder—why the change? Was it going to be permanent, or was Joshua going to change his mind again? “Why?”

  “I talked with Ward and Casey, well, they kicked my ass because I was being a jerk to you. I have some...issues with scientists in general, but I know you have nothing to do with it. It took me a little while to realize it, though. I’ll tell you about it, just...not now.” Joshua’s voice dropped, becoming sensual and dark and making Adrian shiver. “I’ve always wanted you, you know? Since the first time you walked into Dominic’s office, I couldn’t keep my mind off of you.”

  “So, what do we do?”

  “Are you saying yes?”

  “Maybe.” Adrian had no idea what he was doing, but he wouldn’t know if he didn’t at least try. He would regret it all his now very long life if he didn’t give Joshua a chance.

  “Are you free tomorrow night?”

  Adrian chuckled. “If you didn’t notice, I kind of lost my job and my house, so yeah, I guess I’m free.”

  Joshua took a remote control from his pocket and Adrian realized that they had arrived. The mansion’s gate opened and Joshua drove the car in, stopping it in front of the door. Soren was already walking to them, but Joshua didn’t let Adrian go, not right away. He grabbed Adrian’s shoulder, making him look at him, then he cupped the back of Adrian’s head and pulled him in for a deep, passionate kiss that left Adrian a little dazed. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, then. I’ll come and get you at your room door at seven, is that okay?”

  “Ye-yeah. Tomorrow.”

  Joshua gave Adrian one last peck on the lips before exiting the car. He passed next to Soren and gave him a little wave. The tiger crossed his arms on his chest and scowled, and Adrian knew he had to do something about this situation. He shouldn’t have gotten involved with Soren in the first place, but how could he have known that after months of not talking to him, Joshua was going to change his mind? Not that anything more than hugs had happened with Soren, but Adrian knew the man wanted something more. Adrian just wasn’t the right man for him. He couldn’t give him what he was looking for, because Adrian wanted only Joshua.

  He could feel hope blooming in his chest at the idea of going out with his mate, even if he tried to tell himself that he should be careful. Joshua could still change his mind, but Adrian was pretty sure that with the mate bond he could manage to make Joshua fall in love with him.

  “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you, right?”

  Adrian stepped out before answering Soren’s question. He put his hands on his hips and faced the man. “Seriously? I thought he was your friend!”

  “Well, it’s not like he would hit you or something, but I thought he said something that could have hurt you.”

  Adrian shook his head. “Nothing like that. Actually, he asked me out.”

  Soren’s eyes widened a bit but the tiger quickly schooled his expression before giving anything else away. “What did you say?”

  “I said yes. He’s my mate, Soren. I have to give him a chance.”

  Soren walked Adrian to what would be his room in silence. They had left nearly everything in the car. Adrian was too tired to do anything more than grab an overnight bag. He might have been sitting on his butt in his car for the past day, but he’d had to live through so many emotions that he needed time to process everything. He would have time to unpack later. Much later.

  He followed Soren into the bedroom and watched as the tiger put his bag on the floor before tuning to him. Soren hesitated, but finally walked the few steps that separated them. “You’re right, you should give him a chance, but will you give me one as well?”

  “I...Soren, I like you, I really do, but...I don’t feel like that. You’re a very good friend, but it stops there.”

  “You sure?” Before Adrian could answer Soren cupped his face with both of his hands and leaned in, pressing their lips together. Adrian was so shocked he didn’t react right away, but he did open his mouth to protest. Bad idea.

  Soren took it as a permission to kiss him deeper, and Adrian felt his tongue slipping into his mouth. He nearly had to use a crowbar to pry him off, because damn, the man was strong!

  “Soren!”

  “What?” Adrian had to give it to the tiger, he didn’t seem repentant. He just gave Adrian a wide smile before kissing him on the forehead. Adrian stepped away, putting enough space between them so that he could not kiss him again.

  “I was saying that you’re a friend, only a friend. I don’t feel that...spark with you, I’m sorry.”

  “Nah, it’s good. It’s just my luck that all the good ones are already taken.”

  “You’ll find your mate, you’ll see.”

  “Yeah, well, I hope he hurries a bit, ‘cause I don’t want to be the only single guy left in the house. You have no idea what it’s like to live with all those horn dogs and how many times I walked on them getting frisky where they shouldn’t have.” Soren shuddered as if he were horrified, but Adrian could see the spark of mischief in his eyes, and the longing.

  “We’re still friends, right?”

  “Of course, sweetheart. And tell Joshua I will have his balls if he hurts you again.”

  Yeah, maybe Adrian should avoid telling his mate that.

  * * * *

  Joshua knew Adrian was still sleeping, but he had things to do. Well, he had one thing to do—he had to find Gabriel. He didn’t have to patrol until the next morning, so he had the time to do this until he had to go to Adrian.

  Joshua couldn’t help but wonder if Adrian had told Soren about them. He wasn’t actually sure there was a them, not yet, but Adrian didn’t strike him as a double gamer. Sure, he might have been close to Soren, and Joshua was jealous, but he also knew that he had been the one to push Adrian into Soren’s arms when the man really wanted him. Or so he hoped. They’d never really talked about their situation or their feelings. When Joshua had found out Adrian was his mate, he’d been too angry. Dominic had ordered him to take Adrian back to New York, but he had never really talked to Adrian.

  He had observed him a lot, though, both during the long flight and when the man was in New York. It had been part of his assigned job, and Adrian hadn’t known Joshua was watching him. What he had discovered had made his anger slowly disappear. Adrian wasn’t the cold and hard scientist Joshua had thought he was. Even knowing he was doing it to save his brother, Joshua had thought that one way or another Adrian didn’t really care. He had thought that Adrian saw shifters and even humans as expendables. He couldn’t have been more wrong.

  Adrian cherished life. Joshua had seen him take a lost dog into his home and keep it there until he found the owner. He had seen the tears in his mate’s eyes when the owner had taken the dog back after a week, and he had known that the man he was looking at, the one who helped elderly people cross the street, was a good man. He had just been too stubborn to admit it, too stuck in his anger.

  He stopped at Isaiah’s door and entered. The man was working on his computers, just like always. “What can I do for you?”

  “I know you’
ve looked through the company’s database to find Adrian’s brother.”

  Isaiah scratched his jaw. “Yeah, but I couldn’t find him. It either means they registered him under a false name or that they didn’t register him at all.”

  “Knowing the company, I’m guessing they registered him under a false name. I don’t like this, but I think they used him for their experiments. They had a human on hand, so why not?”

  Isaiah looked at him and Joshua realized his words had been harsh, but the man only nodded. “I can see them doing that.”

  “Have you checked the humans who have been captured around the time Adrian started to work for the company?”

  Isaiah scoffed. “Of course I did. You think I can’t do my job? I checked that, I checked with Gabriel’s measurements and features, but they were very careful and I never found someone who matched exactly.”

  “Can you reduce the list of humans to those who were given the serum?”

  “You think they changed him?”

  Joshua raked his hands in his hair. “I don’t know, but it’s a guess as good as any, right? I think they might have found it fitting to use Adrian’s serum on his brother.”

  Isaiah’s hand were already flying on the keyboard as he brought up the company’s database. The way he could do both that and talk with Joshua without problems was kind of amazing. “So, Adrian is here?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I heard he hooked up with Soren.”

  Isaiah was fishing for information, huh? “He didn’t. In fact, we’re going out tonight.” That made Joshua’s leopard feel smug. He had won the man, not the tiger. He was going to be the one to get in Adrian’s bed, not Soren.

  “Yeah? Well, I’m glad for you. You need someone who can get under that hard armor of yours.” Isaiah turned back to his screen. “Okay, I reduced the list, but we still have...shit, sixteen names, excluding the ones we already rescued, of course.”