Adrian (The Dark Shadows Book 4) (7 page)

“
I
f at any
time you feel uncomfortable or threatened, just call my name,” Adrian said, squeezing Angel’s shoulders. She stared up at him with a smile.

“I’ll be okay,” she cooed, trying to sound brave. “He doesn’t scare me.” That was the least of her worries. She didn’t want to go back to the life of a rogue vampire.

When Adrian came to her that morning, informing her that the Shadows needed her help, she didn’t hesitate. They hadn’t been together long, but she could tell that Adrian
lived
to be a Dark Shadow warrior. If the Shadows were going to be a part of his life, then she would have to learn to trust them and forget everything that she had been taught.

“Remember what Nicu coached you to ask about,” he said, handing her a tiny earpiece to place in her ear. Once it was placed, she could hear a voice repeating the word ‘testing’ in her ear.

“I can hear you,” she notified the voice.

“Great. This is Teague, by the way, your guide for the day,” he joked. From what she remembered, he was the brother that was mated to a demigoddess she had yet to meet.

“Hello, Teague”, she laughed, looking over to Adrian. He seemed satisfied, knowing that she would at least be able to hear his brother while he stood outside the doors.

“I’m ready when you are, Angel.” Teague’s voice came through loud and clear.

“I’m ready.” Adrian grabbed her gently by the nape of her neck. He pulled her forward and laid a kiss on the middle of her forehead.

“Showtime,” he whispered, with his lips still pressed against her. He pulled away and opened the door that would lead her to the dungeons.

Angel took the first step into the hallway, pausing to look one last time at the vampire she loved. His eyes held a concerned look. She smiled before giving him a small wave, wanting to calm his nerves. She refused to show him that she was nervous. He might not let her go if he knew that her stomach was tied up in knots. She turned away, and her smile disappeared as she focused on her mission.

When she had learned that Jaxon was being held in the royal dungeon, she imagined a musty dark area in the house that would still hold all the appeal of the eighteenth or nineteenth century. The hallway leading to Jaxon’s cell was the complete opposite of what she had imagined. It was almost sterile in appearance, with the clean cold concrete floors, and walls painted a light gray. She didn’t have any trouble finding Jaxon’s cell.

Second one on the right is where Nicu said he would be. She paused in front of the glass-encased cell. There was a box on the wall with buttons for communication and to open the door. Jaxon sat on the floor; silver chains hung from his wrists, securing him to the wall. His head hung low, and he was unaware that she was observing him, still clothed in his dirty clothes from the other day.

She reached up and pressed the communicator button that would allow them to speak to each other.

“Jaxon?” she called out.

His head jerked up and his eyes locked on her. For a moment, she was taken back to the night when he rescued her. Pain had filled her body, and his voice still echoed in her head, assuring her that she would be okay, and that the pain would pass soon. It was Jaxon that had been almost like a big brother to her, but only in secret.

The other rogues didn’t know that Jaxon had favored her over the other new vampires that were being recruited. Five long years she ran in the underground world of rogue vampires, not knowing any better, and hating every moment of it. That world just wasn’t for her, and she had to escape it.

“Angel?” His voice was raspy as his tortured eyes gazed upon her. “I’m so sorry.”

“Why?” she demanded. After five years away from the rogues, she had finally begun to feel free to live her life in peace.

“I needed to talk to you. You were in danger,” he said, looking away. “I panicked when I saw those two Shadows in the club.”

“You could have called me,” she said, folding her arms across her chest.

“What I needed to tell you, couldn’t be said over the phone.”

“Why not?”

“Because they have been watching you, and I was sure that your home phone was tapped.”

“Ask him who was watching you.” Teague’s voice came through her earpiece.

“Who?” she asked softly, unconsciously taking a step closer to the glass. Who would be watching her? She had already been deemed worthless as a rogue vampire. Attacking and killing innocent victims was something she could never bring herself to do.

“Why are you with the Shadows?” Jaxon asked with his top lip curled in disgust. “Are you here against your will? Have they harmed you?”

“Do not tell him that you’re Adrian’s mate,” Teague’s voice whispered in her ear.

“I…I don’t know,” she stumbled with her answer. “They have not harmed me.”

“Ask him again who is watching you,” Teague whispered, redirecting their conversation.

“Who would be watching me?” she asked again.

“You know they wanted to kill you all those years ago, when you were turned.” She gasped at Jaxon’s blunt statement.

She knew that the other rogues didn’t care for her back then. She wasn’t as evil as them, or wanted to kill and torture anything that wasn’t a vampire.

“They had expected you to go rogue immediately after you were turned, but you didn’t. You woke up like any other newly turned vampire. I begged them to give you a chance, but I knew that you weren’t meant to be a rogue. They wanted to force you to go full bloodthirsty rogue, but I couldn’t allow them to do it. You were too pure of heart. That’s why I helped you leave.”

Memories began to surface of her last night in the compound. She had been tied down to a metal table, alone in a room filled with tools for their medical experimentations. She could still hear her own screams echo in the room as she fought to get free from her restraints. Her memory was still sometimes a blur, but she remembered the door to the room banging open, and Jaxon rushing in.

Once he freed her, he practically dragged her out of the building, and gave her the keys to a car. He told her to go, to never look back, and drive until she was far away from them. She sped away, driving far off into the night. The car was packed with everything she would need. A few days’ worth of clothes, a few grand in cash, and even a cooler with a couple pints of blood.

“But why?” she asked, coming back to the present.

“Well, that’s obvious,” Teague’s voice came through. “He cared for you.”

Her eyes widened at Teague’s assumption. She thought back, but Jaxon never showed any interest in her, aside from making sure she learned how to be a vampire.

“I was still too late,” he whispered, a grimace forming on his face.

“Too late for what?” She was so confused by his ramblings. She knew she had to get him back on subject in order to make sense of what he was saying.

“The necromancers. I was one of many working with them… giving them rogues to use, trying to destroy the Dark Shadows,” he said, staring down at the ground. “We were building a rogue army to fight the Shadows and vampires alike. You know of everything we taught you. The vampires and Dark Shadows cannot be trusted. But the necromancers wanted total control of the rogues. They took their life energy, and will now make them fight the vampires. They will use mind control to get the rogues to do what they want.”

“Shit!” Teague cursed.

“What does that have to do with me?” she whispered, as dread filled her belly.

“They took yours,” he confessed, looking defeated. “When they are ready, they will be able to control you too.”

A
ngel had been
shell-shocked ever since she left from speaking with the rogue. Her large brown eyes were filled with tears when he opened the door to the dungeon, along with a look of horror. He instantly picked her up and carried her straight to Nicu’s office, placing her on one of the couches.

She had yet to say a word or move since leaving the dungeon. His siblings gathered in the room as word spread about the necromancers having full control over every rogue, including his mate.

“Should we call the doctor?” Nadira asked, concern lining her face.

“I don’t know,” Adrian said, waiting for his parents to come. There had to be some way for them to break the control the necromancers had over Angel. He refused to lose his mate. “We’ll find some way to break their hold on her.”

“If they have taken her energy, is there any way for her to escape them?” Teague asked.

“She’s like a sleeper cell,” Nicu snapped from behind his desk. “The minute the necromancers are ready to attack, they can activate her, and there’s no telling what they will have her do.”

“For all we know, she’ll try to kill you, brother,” Toma said, frowning.

“I could never hurt him,” Angel whispered, her tear-filled eyes looking around the room. “You must believe me.”

“I know that,” Adrian assured, kneeling on the floor in front of her. His heart ached. He hated this helpless feeling of not being able to fix this problem for his young mate.

“If what Jaxon said was true, then I would be a danger to you and your family.”

“She’s right.” Nicu’s voice was low. “What better way to infiltrate and destroy us? They just happened to luck up taking her energy. There was no way they could have known in the past, that one day she would be the mate of a Dark Shadow warrior.”

“I won’t hurt you,” she said, shaking her head. He could plainly see the panic building up in her eyes. His heart began to pound in his chest; he felt absolutely helpless. They had just completed their mating bond, and should still be privately celebrating, spending time getting to know one another.

“Of course you won’t,” Adrian murmured, his hands pushing her dark hair out of her eyes.

“I can’t stay here,” she insisted, scrambling to get up from the couch, but he blocked her.

“You’re not leaving here,” Adrian snapped, fighting to remain calm. “We can find a way to fix this.”

“But Nicu is right,” Angel said, when he finally allowed her to get off the couch. “You don’t know when they will activate me.”

“I’ll take that chance,” Adrian concluded, grabbing her arm.

“But I won’t.” The king’s voice boomed as he walked into the room with the queen right behind him.

“What?” Adrian gasped, unable to believe his ears.

“It’s far too dangerous,” his father continued. “Are you sure she’s really your mate?” His dark eyes locked on Angel. Unconsciously, Adrian stepped in front of Angel as the king came to stand in front of them.

“Of course she is,” Adrian snapped, anger building up in his chest. He was flabbergasted that his father would not believe or trust in him to know his mate. “We’ve completed the bond.”

“Until the threat of the rogue army attacking is gone, son, she needs to go,” the king stated without remorse, his dark eyes unwavering from Adrian’s. Gasps could be heard from around the room.

“Mom, you yourself said that she was an innocent,” Adrian pleaded with the queen. He knew that his mother had to have seen the good in Angel.

“She is an innocent, son,” the queen nodded, standing next to his father. Her eyes filled with sorrow. “But that was before learning that the necromancers can control her. Just think of what could happen if she turned on you.”

“We would be forced to kill her,” Nicu growled, interrupting their mother. “We will not risk any harm to our brother.”

Angel’s quick intake of breath, and the feel of her tiny hands gathering his shirt into her fist had him seeing red. How could his family turn on his mate so quickly?

“Stop!” Angel yelled. Her eyes were wide as she stepped from behind him, holding her hands up. “No one is killing anyone. I’ll go, okay?” She looked around the room.

“If you would let me finish what I came to say,” the king snapped, his eyes flashing crimson. “Calm down, Adrian. No one is going to harm your mate. We would never let anyone or anything harm her.” The king shot a chilling glance at Nicu.

“But you said—

“I said she needs to leave here. You all never let me finish,” the king said, looking around the room at his children and wife. “Adrian, we are happy that you have your mate. You children know that I have been fighting for you to have the right to mate with whom fate has decided to be your other half.

“When Nadira first found Cooper, your mother and I were ecstatic that one of our children had finally made the eternal commitment to someone. A fated mate was all we ever wished for our children, but never knew it would really happen.”

“Then Toma mated with Anika,” the queen continued, taking the hand of his father. “I have to say, we did not see that one coming.”

A few chuckles could be heard around the room. No one saw that relationship coming. They were all in shock when it finally came to light. Adrian grabbed Angel’s hand and pulled her to him, wrapping his arm around her to tuck her into his side. Relief washed over him, almost like a burden was being lifted from his shoulders.

“But Anika was already family to us. We are willing to accept any mate that the fates have designed. Who would have known the fates would have given Teague a Valkyrie demigoddess as a mate?” The queen’s warm eyes circled the room, sending love out to each one of her children. “What my mate was trying to say, dear child,” her eyes landed on Angel, “is that we are overjoyed that Adrian has found his mate. But we need to be cautious, and protect not only him, but you as well.”

“We are going to send you to the Fae to see if there is anything they can do to remove the hold that the necromancers have put upon you,” the king finished. Adrian nodded at that plan. The Fae were just as strong as the necromancers, if not stronger, and thankfully, they were one of the vampire’s allies.

“Okay,” Angel breathed as she straightened to her full height. “Whatever I need to do, I’ll do it.”

“Then that’s settled,” the king announced, grasping Adrian by the shoulder. “Have more faith in me, son.”

Adrian nodded, unable to speak around the lump in his throat. He was ashamed that he even thought that his family would turn on him. He brought Angel to him in a crushing hug.

“I’m going with you,” he murmured into her ear as she returned the hug.

His eyes met his older brother’s over Angel’s head. Nicu offered a short nod, and Adrian knew that was as close to an apology as he would get from the Dark Shadows leader.

“All will be right in the world,” Teague joked. “Aven will fix Angel, we’ll kick some rogue and necro ass, then the fates will send Nicu his mate.”

Everyone in the room broke out into laughter, except Nicu.