Adrian [Whitedell Pride: 8] Read online

  He had done it. He had erased everything, destroyed the samples, then taken his messenger bag and headed out as if it was just another normal day. It had been while he was walking home in the dark streets that he had heard the steps behind him, or so he thought. Adrian knew they would come after him, but he had hoped it would take them a little more time to find out what he had done.

  Adrian hurried his steps, even knowing he couldn’t leave the company’s thugs behind. They were professionals, and since they hadn’t done anything yet, he thought they probably wanted him alive, maybe to make another batch of the serum. Or they were waiting until he was off the streets before killing him.

  Adrian knew he shouldn’t go home, that they were probably going to get to him there, but he needed his car. He had stashed all the cash he had managed to retrieve from his bank account without raising questions in it, so he needed at least that. Shit, who was Adrian trying to fool? He needed his car, because without it he might just as well hand himself over to the company. He wouldn’t be able to get to Whitedell without it.

  Adrian risked a glance behind, but he couldn’t see anything. He was in his neighborhood now, and the streets were deserted, even if it was Friday night. Probably because it was Friday night. Everyone was out partying, or watching movies, or whatever it was that normal people did on Friday nights, so the residential neighborhood was empty, the lights behind the windows were very few. Besides, Adrian wouldn’t scream even if they took him. He couldn’t risk someone else’s life just to save himself.

  When he finally got to his house, he reached into his pocket to grab his keys. Adrian’s hands were shaking so hard he thought he might drop the keys, so he tightened his fist around them so much that he could feel the metal cutting his flesh. His heart was beating erratically as he reached the door, but he managed to get the key into the lock, open the door and slip inside the apartment building. He slammed the door closed, taking his first deep breath since he had noticed he was being followed. He didn’t have time to waste, though, so he rushed to the back door, hoping the thugs didn’t know about it or at least that it would take them a few more minutes to get there.

  Opening the door, he took in a deep breath and peeked, but he didn’t see anything. Adrian literally ran to his car, but his hands were shaking too badly. Helped by the cold sweat on his skin, the keys slid and he dropped them. Luckily they didn’t end up under the car, but the precious time it took to retrieve them and to open the door gave the thugs the time to get to him.

  “Where do you think you’re going, doc?”

  “Uh, I’m seeing a friend tonight?” That was convincing—not.

  The guy arched a brow. “Really? I think you should call your friend and tell him that you have work to do. The boss wants to talk to you.”

  Adrian was scared to death. He had to get in the car and start it before the two men could get to him, but they were so close already. He didn’t know how to defend himself, and he didn’t have any weapons. The only thing he had on him was the syringe containing the serum that changed humans into shifters. Trembling, he reached for his jacket’s front pocket and took it out, quickly popping the plastic covering the needle off before holding the syringe up to his throat.

  “Don’t come near me. I’m not coming with you.”

  “I don’t think what you’re doing is wise, doc.”

  “Well, thank you for your advice, but I don’t usually listen to what my would-be kidnappers say. Wait, I’ve never actually been kidnapped, but I wouldn’t have listened to my kidnapper anyway.” Okay, now Adrian was just blabbing, and the thugs knew it. The one who had spoken reached for Adrian, but Adrian had been expecting it. He slid in the car as fast as he could, but the guy’s arm reached inside and grabbed his arm.

  The problem was that the man grabbed the arm that held the syringe to Adrian’s throat, and even if it wasn’t at throat’s height anymore, the power of the push managed to embed the thing into Adrian’s flesh, right where neck met throat. He literally felt the serum push through his skin and flesh, the liquid burning as it entered his blood stream and began to make its way through his body.

  He couldn’t think about the consequences, though, not right now. He would have the time to curl into a ball and cry his eyes out once he was safe. Now was the moment to turn the car on and at the same time slam the door closed on the thug’s arm.

  Adrian used as much force as he could, which meant it wasn’t much. His body was gangly, not muscular. It was enough, though. The door slammed on the guy’s forearm, the scream that came from him was satisfying. Adrian didn’t know if it was broken, but it had to hurt anyway, and the man yanked his arm back as soon as Adrian let the door go.

  Adrian used the few seconds the man spent nursing his hurt arm to close the door again and lock it. The car was already running, so he slammed the accelerator and peeled away, leaving the two men behind. The one that hadn’t been hurt started to run after him, but it was obvious to all of them that it was no use. Adrian was so glad they’d followed him home on foot.

  He drove through the empty streets, trying to ignore the burn that was going down his arm and chest. Well, at least he’d been injected with the final version of the serum, so he wouldn’t have to worry about getting sick. The only problem—it wasn’t really a problem, but well, if he really had to be a shifter he wanted to be a badass one—was that the animal he had taken the DNA from was a squirrel. Yup, a squirrel. It was a good idea, or at least that was what he’d thought at the time. He had chosen a small and defenseless animal so that even if the company managed to get it and injected it into someone, they wouldn’t be able to change whoever it was into some big, aggressive animal.

  So now he was going to become a squirrel. Nice. Well, it wasn’t going to happen for at least a few hours, even if he didn’t know how many. He hadn’t wanted to experiment with this serum on humans, so he was going to be the first. He should take notes. Adrian looked at his watch and took a few seconds to register the time. He didn’t know exactly when he had been injected, but it wasn’t that long ago.

  The burning slowly extended to Adrian’s fingers as the time passed and he knew he had to stop. The serum was working faster than what he’d thought.

  He drove as fast as he could until he reached Easton, but he couldn’t go farther than that. By then the burning had crept down his chest and reached his legs, and Adrian nearly couldn’t get out of the car to go into the motel and get a room. He managed, though, and once inside he locked the door and took his clothes off before getting under the covers. He would have never imagined that the change would make him cold, but he was literally freezing.

  He had one last thing to do before he could give in to the serum. Grabbing his cell phone, he called Joshua. He had to wait a while for the man to even answer, but when he finally did Adrian didn’t give him the time to rant that he hadn’t given him the permission to call.

  “I’m in Easton. I had to run from the company, but I accidentally injected myself with the serum I created to change humans. I don’t know what’s going to happen because it has never been tested before. I just...I just wanted to let you know. I’m sorr—” Adrian rushed through his little speech, but he didn’t get to finish the sentence because by then he was feeling too bad. He just had to let go and surrender to the darkness.

  * * * *

  “Wait! Adrian! Adrian!” Joshua yelled, but no one answered. Joshua’s heart was beating so hard he was surprised it didn’t just jump out of his chest.

  He’d been mildly angry and annoyed when he saw who was calling him, because he’d told Adrian to limit himself to text messages and emails. Yeah, Joshua knew it was petty and childish, but he just couldn’t stand to hear the man, to hear that soft and sweet voice. It made him want to wrap Adrian in his arms and never let him go, and he couldn’t afford that.

  So yeah, he was annoyed and ready to scold Adrian, but the man hadn’t even given him the time to open his mouth. Joshua wasn’
t even sure Adrian had breathed while he was talking, but he knew his own heart had stopped beating after the words run from the company. Shit, Adrian was on the run and possibly sick, and he wasn’t answering, although Joshua could hear him breathe at the other end of the connection, and the fact that the breathing wasn’t regular was just scaring the shit out of him. Right now he didn’t care what Adrian had done in his life and why being with him would be a bad idea—he just wanted to run to his mate, hug him tight and make sure he was okay. To do that he needed Isaiah.

  Joshua rushed out of his room, his phone still in his hand. Joshua was holding onto it as if it was a lifeline, as if the simple fact that he was holding it near his ear and listening to his mate breathe meant Adrian was going to be fine. Shit, he needed to call Jared, too. Luckily it was only eight PM, so the doc would probably be in the dining room or in the infirmary, but Joshua didn’t have the time to look for him. He would have to use the phone in Isaiah’s office to call him. He couldn’t afford to hang up on Adrian, even if the man was probably unconscious. God, Joshua hoped he was only unconscious.

  Joshua rushed through the house until he got to Isaiah’s office. He slammed the door in, not caring one bit about the scowl the man gave in when he looked up from his computer. Isaiah opened his mouth, probably to scold him, but Joshua didn’t have the time to listen to him.

  “Adrian called. He ran away and injected himself with some serum. We need to find him.”

  Isaiah’s eyes went serious as he twirled his chair around to face his computer again, his fingers already flying on the keyboard. “You know where he is?”

  “He said he was in Easton. I have him on the phone right now but I think he’s unconscious.”

  “Okay, that’s going to be helpful.” Isaiah reached for the phone, his eyes never leaving his screen as he made a few phone calls. Joshua didn’t even listen to him. He was too busy concentrating on Adrian’s breathing and crooning soft words into his phone. He knew the man couldn’t hear him—probably—but he needed to do something. He would go mad if he didn’t, and his leopard was already doing a good job of that on his own. It was prowling inside Joshua’s mind, snarling and showing its teeth at Joshua and making it clear that it was all Joshua’s fault. Their mate should have been in his arms right now, but instead he had pushed Adrian away. Yeah, the cat was not a happy kitty, and it was making it known.

  “Tell me.” Dominic’s voice stunned Joshua out of his funk. The lion’s voice left no choice but to answer him.

  “Adrian called me. He said he’d had to run from the company and that he was in Easton, and that he had accidently injected himself with the serum used to change humans into shifters, but that it was a new one and he didn’t know what was going to happen, then he...fainted I guess. I can still hear him breathing, so I think he’s fine for now, but I don’t know how long it’s going to last. We have to get to him.”

  Dominic nodded and turned to Jared. Joshua hadn’t even noticed the doc had arrived too. “Do you know something about this new serum?”

  “I don’t know any specifics, but from what Adrian told me he shouldn’t have problems with it. It’s the one he created when he found out the old one didn’t allow humans to shift and made them sick. I’d guess that once his body assimilates it, he’ll be fine.”

  “Okay, I have his location and I’m sending the details to Joshua’s phone. I also got into the company’s computers and I found out that our little doc wreaked havoc before running. He erased a good part of the database and I found images of him destroying samples in the lab. He tried to be discreet about it, but anyone who really looks would know what he was doing. We have to find him before the company does.”

  Joshua looked at Dominic. “I want to go. Please.”

  The lion’s eyes appraised him, and Joshua hoped he would take into account that Joshua was Adrian’s mate, even if he hadn’t claimed him. Even if he was still being stupid. “Fine. You can go, but you’ll take Jared and Soren with you. Soren will be in charge of Jared’s safety while you have to deal with Adrian. Are you sure you’re up to it?”

  The question was obvious in Dominic’s eyes and words—are you sure you can get over whatever you have against him and keep him safe no matter what? He knew he could, heck, he already had. Whatever Adrian had done, he still couldn’t let his mate die or even let him get hurt.

  “Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll help him.” He was still holding his phone close enough to his ear that he could hear his mate breathe, and Dominic’s eyes didn’t miss it. Joshua wasn’t sure he liked the I-told-you-so smirk on his Alpha’s face, but he had more important things to do right now.

  “I can call André to see if we can use his plane, but I don’t think it will be a problem.”

  Damn, it was nice to have a rich friend. Joshua had met André briefly when he’d come back from getting Adrian back to New York, and he had liked the no-nonsense, very particular man. He liked the private jet even more, because it meant he would be next to his mate in only six hours or so instead of the twenty-four-plus it would have taken by car.

  “Can I make a suggestion?” Jared asked, his voice soft, as if he was afraid he would say something stupid, which was ridiculous, really. Jared had to be the smartest man Joshua knew—apart from Adrian, of course.

  Dominic nodded and Jared continued, “I’m not sure how this works, so I don’t know if it’s actually possible, but can’t Finn, Ani and Nysys just shimmer us there? Between the three of them, they shouldn’t have problems shimmering back and forth, right?”

  Joshua looked at the doc, his mouth gaping. Of course.

  “How is it that we didn’t think about it before now?” Dominic asked with a chuckle. “I’m not sure they can actually shimmer thinking about someone, but I think it might be a possibility.” His eyes went a bit blank and Joshua knew he had to be communicating with Ani. The Nix shimmered in only a few seconds later, quickly followed by Finn, then Nysys. The council’s Nix member was always a punch to Joshua’s stomach. He was too bright, too colorful, too...too much. Joshua much preferred soft blond hair and grey eyes.

  “We can shimmer you to Adrian without problems, so I suggest that Jared gathers what he needs to examine Adrian while Joshua can get Soren and explain where they’re going. You might want to pack a weapon or two just to be prepared if we meet someone from the company,” Ani said, his voice very down to earth.

  Joshua was stunned. When had the little shy and quiet man become so...Alpha mate? Damn, it was as if the role had been made for him. Joshua hadn’t been sure he’d be good at it, but it was quite the contrary.

  “All righty then, everyone has something to do, so I suggest you listen to the Alpha mate and get to it,” Nysys quipped and everyone moved at once. Joshua saw the proud look in Dominic’s eyes as he looked at his mate, and his heart broke a little. He should have had the same look in his eyes when looking at Adrian when his mate had helped Oliver, but he had been too angry. He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to get over what Adrian had done over the last two years, though.

  Chapter Two

  Adrian felt...fine. He knew he was awake, and the burning he’d felt creeping down his body was gone. It hadn’t been easy, especially when it had reached his privates, but he had managed to go through it. He just wanted to rest a little bit more before going back to the real world.

  Right now he was playing around with his new friend. He was kind of glad his new guest was small and cute, because it would have been intimidating meeting a lion or a bear, or any other animal that big. A squirrel was perfect. Small, cute, playful. Perfect. He wasn’t sure Joshua would think the same thing, though, but then why did he care? It wasn’t like the man was even talking to him, even if Adrian was his mate.

  Adrian ran his imaginary fingers on the squirrel’s soft fur. He had studied enough shifters and talked with enough of them to know exactly what a mate was, but he knew he would never have that type of connection with Joshua. He didn’t
blame the man, not after what Adrian had done. Still, he wished he could have that. The love, the passion, the affection. He wished he could have more than quick fucks when he felt the need to scratch that itch.

  Adrian’s squirrelly half suddenly stood up, its ears twitching as he took in deep breaths. The squirrel started to jump up and down and to make excited noises, and Adrian didn’t understand what was going on. Why was he behaving like that?

  Adrian concentrated on his body when he felt it jolt. Someone was touching him, and he felt his heart start to beat faster. It seemed that someone was examining him, and it could mean only one thing—the company had found him. They were going to turn him into an experiment just like they had done with the other humans, only he was a complete one. He couldn’t help but think that this was exactly what he deserved. He had done the same thing to many people, and karma really did seem to be a bitch.

  He jerked, trying to get away from the prying hands that were touching him. He might deserve whatever fate sent him, but he wasn’t going to go down without a fight. He heard a voice yell, “Come here and try to calm him!” but he had to fight. He had to get free.

  “Adrian. Adrian! Stop it! We’re only trying to help you!”

  Adrian’s squirrel squeaked in his mind, but now that he really listened to it, Adrian realized that it wasn’t scared. It was excited and happy. Adrian took a deep breath like his squirrel had done before, and the most delicious scent he had ever smelled slammed into him. It was sunshine and spice, and Adrian knew instantly whom it belonged to.

  Mine!

  Adrian jolted up, blindly reaching for his mate. He had to get to Joshua, he had to bite him and make him his so that the man would never let him go. He felt sharp teeth he had never had before punch through his gums as they popped out and he lunged for the man exuding the mate scent. Adrian was working on instinct.

  “He’s going to bite you!”