Adrian (The Dark Shadows Book 4) (4 page)

A
drian couldn’t help
but pace the hallway outside the room that Nicu had instructed them to place Angel in. Adrian was livid that Nicu would insist she needed to be put in an interrogation room, like she was a criminal or something.

She was an innocent, not a threat.

He walked into the observation room that was connected to her room, and found Teague and Phaelyn.

He walked up to the one-way glass window, and found Angel seated in the corner of the room, on the floor. She was still dressed in her leather pants and black work shirt. He noticed she was barefoot, finding her heeled boots underneath the table.

“Who is coming to do her interrogation?” he demanded in a low growl. His hands painfully gripped the windowsill. The need to go to her consumed him. He didn’t understand any of these feelings at all. The longer he was around her, the more he felt the need to protect her, kiss her, take her somewhere where he could—

Claim her.

His eyes widened at the thought. Could she be? Could she be the one?

His fated mate?

Holy fuck!

Where did this come from? They hadn’t known each other long at all. He’d only met her twice, and already he knew that his feelings for her weren’t normal. What vampire would get the chance to be with two willing women, but only have eyes for another, think of another, and climax while imaging the other two women were her? He knew that night, that even the two women couldn’t hold a candle to the one he’d wished was with him.

“You all right, brother?” Teague asked.

Adrian jerked his head in a nod, unable to speak. Of course he was. He hadn’t even considered looking for a mate, at least anytime soon. Even with the Vampire Council demanding that he and his siblings mate, and begin producing heirs, he had not considered looking for someone.

The council didn’t care about fated mates. They were demanding that the heirs to the crown mate with pure vampires only, to continue to strengthen their line. He just couldn’t bring himself to mate with just anyone. A fated mate was supposed to be someone that the fates decided was made just for you.

His father, the king, was in the middle of a battle with the council, to reverse their decision of the heirs only being allowed to mate with pure vampires. The king and queen both felt that their children should be able to mate with whomever the fates decided. He thought of his siblings, who were already mated.

Nadira, his sister, was mated to Cooper, the human detective who she turned into a vampire in order to save his life. Toma, his younger brother, was mated to a human, Anika. Teague, the youngest of the male siblings, was recently mated to Bella, a Valkyrie demigoddess.

Each of his mated siblings were head over heels in love with their mates, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. If he had to mate with someone, he would choose whomever fate had in store for him, and if he didn’t know any better, she was currently sitting in the interrogation room.

* * *

S
he didn’t know
how much longer they were going to make her wait in this room, but it was starting to drive her crazy. Phaelyn, and Prince Adrian, promised her that she would be unharmed, but some of the other shadow warriors didn’t look as if they would be keeping those promises. The one named Viktor scared the shit out of her. He had a menacing look to him, so she kept her eyes averted, away from him.

The room she was currently in was small, windowless, and had nothing on the walls, except for a large mirror, which she was sure was one of those one-way mirrors. She had watched enough cop drama shows in her human life to recognize one when she saw it.

Her skin crawled, just thinking of the person that may be on the other side of it, watching her. She hadn’t seen Prince Adrian since they were separated, when he had helped Viktor carry a struggling Jaxon into the building.

She was confused by her feelings for the prince, and everything that she was taught about the Dark Shadows. It was hard to separate everything that she had learned during her ten years as a vampire, and her heart.

One minute she was jealous, wanting to snatch him up and drag him to a dark corner to have her wicked way with him. The next, she wanted to run far, far away from him.

It had been Jaxon and his friends who had helped her. The first year after her attack, she was as weak as a newborn calf. It was like learning to do everything all over again. She had been sensitive to light, and she had to learn to feed by drinking blood. She learned the hard way that she could no longer consume human food.

She cringed, remembering the vomiting she experienced when she would sneak and try to eat human food. Vampire’s stomachs were not made for digesting food. They had even taught her survival skills, but she knew staying with the rogues would be no good.

Life as a vampire at first, didn’t seem as if it would be so bad. But as time passed, her eyes were opened to the dark world of vampirism.

Every week or so, it would seemed as though they would discuss how another one of the rogues were killed. The life of a rogue vampire was one of darkness and danger, and she knew instantly it was not meant for her.

Angel was introduced to some of the darkest vampires around, all rogues. Some of them didn’t have control over themselves, unable to form conscious thoughts, and were consumed by what she was told was the bloodlust. She had stayed far away from them.

It was five years ago that she broke away from them, running away from Jaxon and his rogues. The rogue leader began experimenting on the newly turned vampires. Jaxon knew that their way of life wasn’t meant for her. She wanted to salvage what little of her old life she could.

Being a vampire changed everything. What she had now wasn’t much, but it was something, and far away from the dangerous life of a rogue.

The door opened, and the sounds of high heels clicking across the floor filled the air. Her curiosity got the best of her, and she glanced up to see who had entered the room.

A woman, who looked to be in her mid-forties, had dark brown hair with blonde highlights, pulled up into a sophisticated bun. Her power blue suit accented her ice blue eyes, ones that reminded her of Adrian’s eyes. She gulped as she realized who she was, as she gazed upon her with a gentle smile.

The vampire queen.

“Your Majesty,” Angel exclaimed, jumping up from the floor.

She looked down at her clothes, and cringed at what she must look like. She certainly wasn’t dressed to meet the queen. She hesitated, not knowing whether she should bow, curtsey, or kneel, when meeting vampire royalty.

Alin Olaru, the vampire queen, stood with a curious look in her eyes as she assessed Angel. “It’s all right, you don’t need to do anything, my child,” the queen said, motioning to the chair at the table. “Please, my dear, have a seat.”

“I’m sorry, Your Grace,” she apologized as she sat in the chair, then watched the queen sit down across the table from her.

“No need to apologize, or be so formal,” the queen said, waving her hand. “So, since you know who I am, my dear, please tell me your name.”

“My name is Angel Sanz, Your Grace,” she answered nervously.

Why would the vampire queen come and question her personally? She must really be in a shitload of trouble. She racked her brain, trying to figure out what she possibly could have done to warrant being questioned by the queen herself. She had led a quiet life as a vampire, and kept to herself as much as possible.

“How long have you been a vampire?” The queen was gentle with her question. Angel began to relax, but just slightly. She was confused by the question, but figured she might as well answer honestly.

“About ten years,” she informed, hesitantly.

“What happened to you?” Angel looked at the queen for a moment. Why would she want to know her story? She was just a lowly turned vampire. There was nothing interesting about her story.

“My story isn’t that interesting.” Angel started, shaking her head. She kept her eyes on her hands, unsure of what else to do. She didn’t want to bore the queen with her sordid story.

“Let me be the judge of that,” the queen countered, sitting back in her chair with a small smile. She nodded, urging Angel to go on.

Angel told the story of losing her parents at a young age, trying to follow in her dreams of completing college, and that fateful night when she was attacked, turned, and left for dead.

“Is that how you met the rogue vampire from tonight?” the queen asked quietly. Angel nodded. “What has your relationship been with him?”

“I haven’t seen him in five years,” Angel admitted. “Tonight was the first time I’d seen him since I ran.” The door opened, and an older vampire dressed in a suit came through the door, carrying a tray.

“Refreshments,” the queen announced. “Thank you, Watson.”

“My pleasure, Your Grace,” the older vampire said with a bow, then made a quick exit from the room.

“Please excuse my rude children for not offering you something to drink. You are looking a little pale.” She poured the dark red liquid into a cup, and Angel licked her lips. She hadn’t realized that it had been so long since she had last fed. She was famished.

“Thank you,” Angel gushed, trying not to down the blood in one gulp.
Sip it slow
, she thought to herself.
The queen is watching
.

“Why the fear when you heard that Phaelyn and Adrian were Dark Shadow warriors?”

Angel paused in drinking her blood, and stared down into her cup. She didn’t want to insult the queen, but she was in heaven right now. The thick coppery blood was of the best quality, and something she could never afford with what little money she made. It was almost as if the warm blood was fresh from the donor.

“Jaxon and the other rogues always spoke of the Dark Shadows as the enemy, that the sole purpose of the Shadows was to hunt down rogues, and any vampires that were turned by a rogue.” Angel paused, keeping her eyes cast down at the table, unable to look at the queen. “And kill them,” she whispered, not knowing if this was their sick way of offering her a “last meal” before they did away with her.

“Oh, my dear,” the queen murmured, sitting forward in her chair. “Rogues have been a thorn in our sides since the beginning of time. Yes, the Shadows were designed to hunt down rogues who are a threat. The Shadows’ ultimate mission is to protect the vampire nation, the humans, and even vampires like yourself. Humans who were turned against their will are to be protected also. The Shadows would never kill an innocent.” The queen reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “You, my dear, are an innocent.”

A
drian’s throat constricted
, listening to Angel’s story. His brothers, and other Shadow warriors came in and out of the room, while he stayed glued to the window, watching Angel in the room with his mother. He was mesmerized by her life’s story, and needed to hear everything.

He had thought that Nicu would have sent Gadiel or Khalid in the room to question Angel. Their interrogation techniques were not for the faint of heart. He owed Nicu.
Big time
. Sending in their mother was smart. The queen loved her subjects, and would not harm a hair on Angel’s head. And in the short time that they were in the room together, she had gotten all the information about Angel that they needed.

She was an innocent, but that didn’t explain why Jaxon was after her. The scraping sound of the chair grabbed Adrian’s attention. He saw his mother walk toward the door. He left the room he was in, and met her in the hallway.

“She is free to go,” his mother said, shaking her head. “She has no clue why the rogue is after her.”

“If Jaxon was after her, then there is a reason,” Adrian countered.

There was no way he would just let her go home, not knowing if other rogues would be coming after her. If they attacked her in the middle of a busy nightclub, there was no telling what would happen while she was alone in her home.

“See her home,” his mother reasoned. Her eyes, which were identical to his, held much concern. “She needs to get some rest. She has learned more about vampirism in the past hour than she has in her ten years as a vampire.”

He nodded his head in understanding. He couldn’t imagine walking in Angel’s shoes. He was born a vampire, and was lucky enough to be surrounded by his parents, his three brothers, and his sister. He couldn’t imagine walking this earth alone.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway. He turned to find Nicu, his eldest brother, and the leader of the Dark Shadows, walking toward them.

“How is she?” Nicu asked their mother. She quickly brought Nicu up to speed. “Will you see her home, or should I have someone else do it?”

“I will do it,” Adrian replied. No one would be taking her home but him. He needed to make sure that she would be safe. “How did it go with Jaxon?”

“He tried to keep his information close to the vest, but Khalid was able to get what we needed,” Nicu said. “He confirmed what we already knew, that the necromancers
are
building a rogue army against us.”

* * *

T
he ride
to Angel’s apartment was silent. She seemed as if she was nervous to be alone with him. The only words spoken were her giving him directions to get to her apartment complex.

“Turn here,” she directed. Her voice shook slightly, which confirmed her nervousness.

He looked around the neighborhood and frowned. It was
the
worst part of town. He knew this from patrolling with the Shadows. The poorest souls lived in this crime-infested neighborhood. Angel shot him an anxious look when she saw the frown on his face.

“It’s not that bad,” she said quietly, as if reading his mind. He parked the SUV in front of her building. “It’s really all I can afford.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he said, not wanting to insult her.

He cut the truck off and got out, jogging over to her side of the truck. He opened her door and helped her down. He glanced around the street, taking in a few humans loitering on the corner of the street. He didn’t feel any immediate threats, but he would have to stay on guard in this neighborhood.

“You don’t have to see me inside,” she said, slowly backing up toward her building, clutching her heels in her hands. He looked down at her feet, and noticed that someone had given her a pair of flip-flops to wear home.

“I wouldn’t be a gentlemen if I didn’t,” he joked. Placing his hand on her lower back, he guiding her into the building. With this neighborhood, there was no way he was letting her walk anywhere alone. “Before I leave, we need to talk.”

She nodded, before she guided him to her first floor apartment. He frowned again, knowing that a single female living in a first floor apartment in a shady part of town was not safe.

“It’s not much,” she said, turning the key in the lock. Her face flushed as she opened the door to her small unit. He was only being nice by calling it small.

The apartment was open with her small kitchenette, living room and sleeping room, all in one room. A door that must lead to the bathroom was closed off to the side. He closed the door behind them.

“Excuse me, I just want to get these clothes off of me,” she said, motioning down at herself. She still had on her clothes from last night. “Please, make yourself comfortable.” She pointed to the couch.

“I’ll be fine,” he replied, sitting on the bumpy couch. He watched her grab a few things from her built-in dresser on the wall, before she disappeared into the bathroom.

He let out a sigh, and looked around her space. He knew he was from wealth, being a vampire prince, and he would never look down on those less fortunate, but this was no way for a beautiful female to live. But, he did have to give it to her. Not too many people would have been able to survive what she had gone through.

Her apartment was scarcely decorated, but clean and neat. She was right, it wasn’t much, but it did have a homey feel to it.

His mate was tough. She was a fighter, and he already found himself connecting with her. He would just have to convince his little vampire that they were mates, and that she belonged to him. The sound of the shower came on, pulling him from his thoughts.

His jeans suddenly became tight as he imagined what she would look like standing beneath the water, covered with soapsuds, while he caressed her naked flesh with his tongue. He imagined her head thrown back as he plunged into her tight folds.

Sweat broke out on his brow. He stood up and began to pace the tiny room. It was too soon to make any moves on his tiny mate. They should spend time getting to know each other first. She was not some donor whom he could just fuck, and not have it mean anything.

She was his fucking mate, and she deserved better.

She deserved more than this small efficiency apartment, and she deserved more than working at a nightclub. She deserved the finer things in life that he could provide her.

The shower continued to run in the bathroom, and the smell of lavender slowly filled the tiny apartment, causing his control to snap.

He had to have her.

His mate.

He kicked off his shoes, pulled his shirt over his head, and quickly chucked his jeans. He hesitated on his boxer briefs, but decided to leave them on for the moment.

He walked over to the bathroom door, finding it unlocked. He opened the door and slowly walked into the decent size bathroom. He practically swallowed his tongue as he looked at the glass shower door. She stood beneath the showerhead, with her hands against the wall, letting the water run over her head, and down her curvy frame.

His briefs drew tighter as he moved toward the shower.

Fuck it!
he thought. As he slid his briefs off, his cock sprung free and he stalked to shower door and opened it. Her eyes widened, but she didn’t say a word as he stepped into the shower. He could feel his fangs descend as he tangled his hands into her silky hair. He bent down and slowly covered her mouth with his. She released a moan as she opened, and let him in to explore her mouth.

He growled at the first taste of her. Her tongue met his in a seductive welcome, drawing him in. The kiss was smoldering, causing his desire for her to increase.

She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck, and crushing her bountiful breasts to his chest. He angled his head and was pleased that she returned his kiss with a fever that let him know that he was not the only one feeling what was transpiring between them.

Angel practically climbed him in her quest to get closer to him. Adrian hoisted her up, pinning her to the shower wall, as he continued to devour her. Her hands gripped his hair as she broke the kiss to stare up into his eyes.

Her honey brown eyes were now vampire crimson, and a peek of her fangs beneath her lip had him wanting her to bite him.

Do it.

Something whispered in the back of his mind. He knew that they were moving too fast, but he didn’t care. She was his mate, and she was currently guiding his cock toward her slippery folds.

She lifted up slightly, before bringing herself down, impaling herself on him, and snapped what little control he had left. He surged into her. He placed his hand on the wall as he held her up with his other one. The feel of her wrapped around him had him pounding away into her heat.

“Angel.” Adrian moaned her name as he thrust deeper burying his head in the crook of her neck. He just couldn’t get close enough to her. Her body was curvy, wet, and soapy, and everything that he had imagined it would be. “You are my mate. You belong to me.”

She instinctively turned her head, presenting her neck to him, and he did what fate wanted him to do. He took his time licking her neck, right over the plump artery, to prepare her for him. Her large artery pulsed as he sunk his fangs in deep.

“Adrian,” she gasped. Her fingers tightened in his hair, holding him closer to her.

Her coppery blood filled his mouth, and it was like nothing he had ever tasted before. It was addicting. It was the sweet taste of his mate, and as he took his last pull, she screamed. Her inner walls clamped tightly around him as he pounded into her, unable to stop. She was his. He needed to claim her for all eternity. He could feel his soul opening and accepting her. She
was
his mate.

“Say it,” he demanded around his fangs. He needed to hear her say the words.

“You are mine,” she gasped, as he thrusted harder, deeper, into her. “You belong to me.”

She grabbed his wrist and bit down hard, drawing his blood into her. He shouted, as lightening coursed through his body. He pumped his release into her as she continued to feed from him.

Her eyes locked with his and he wouldn’t dare look away. The need to watch her feed from him burned in his chest. She gently released his wrist and slowly licked it, not taking her eyes off him to seal the holes.

His hips slowed down to a pause, before coming to a complete stop. His cock was nestled deep inside her, and he loved it. They were a perfect fit.

He was home.

His mate.

He gripped her face in his hands and crushed his mouth to hers. She was now his, forever.