Chapter Ten

By Tuesday Adriana was frazzled beyond belief. Two days of having Reid drive her around and sticking to her like glue was more than a shifter could tolerate—a shifter who knew the man always in her space was her intended mate. Her damn Honda was even in his garage, but he had balked every time she suggested he let her drive it.

Yesterday Adriana had met with two members of the Arcadian Council. Daunting was a mild word for the encounter. Charles and Laurence had come to Reid’s condo. The two of them often handled any matter that took place in or near Calgary. They were serious and distinguished. Powerful. She hadn’t found herself afraid of them, but she felt chilled the entire time they spoke.

At over six and a half feet tall, it wasn’t that they were larger than most grizzly shifters, but they had an aura about them that made them seem more formidable. And that was a good thing. Adriana simply wanted her and Reid and Nolan to be not dead when this was over.

The council members took notes as Reid gave them the details, and then they left, promising to look into the situation and keep their ears and eyes open. Even though she’d exhaled a long sigh of relief after they left, she was glad they were involved. It gave her peace of mind.

But that was yesterday’s drama. Today she needed to call her parents. She’d put it off long enough. Maybe they could help. Maybe they couldn’t. Either way, leaving them out of the loop wasn’t fair. Every day she waited to speak to them it would get harder and harder to do. Their feelings would eventually be hurt. Especially her mother’s.

She waited until evening, sequestered herself in Reid’s guest room, and placed the call.

Her mother picked up on the first ring. “Adriana. How are you? I was beginning to think you’d fallen off the face of the earth. You don’t usually go this long without calling,” she joked.

“Sorry, Mom. I’ve been…busy.” She took a deep breath, intending to continue, but her mother spoke again before she could gather her thoughts.

“I’m not surprised. You always did jump in with both feet when you set your mind to something. It shouldn’t shock me to find you deeply involved in school and your studies. I hope you’re not trying to do too much, honey.”

“Mom.”

“Don’t even try to convince me you’re calm as a cucumber over there in Calgary. I know you better than that. Have you opened your own fashion show yet? Perhaps designed something for the princess of some foreign country?” She giggled.

“Mom,” Adriana said with more force, her voice cracking.

“What?” Beth Tarben’s voice fell. “Is something wrong?”

“No. Well, yes. I mean, I don’t know. Depends on how you look at it.”

“Tell me.” Now her voice was softer. Kind.

She needed to blurt out the gist and move on. No sense breaking it down into pieces. “I met two men over the weekend. Both of them seem to be my intended mate. I’ve never been so confused in my life. And I put off telling you because I feel like a freak.” There. Done. Not nearly as bad as she’d visualized.

Her mother hesitated a moment, her breath hitching. “You went out with two men?”

“No. Not exactly. I didn’t go out with either of them.”

“But you like them?”

“Mom, I don’t think you’re hearing me correctly. I’m quite certain I’m meant to bind with both of them.”

“Bind? You can’t bind with two people, honey. You must be confused.”

Oh, she was confused all right. No denying that fact. “Yeah, I’m super clear on that. And yet, I’m telling you I’m equally attracted to both of them. I could really use your help and support right now. Don’t overanalyze this.”

“Honey, I’ll always support you, no matter what. But I’m not following.”

“I met Nolan Osborn Saturday night at his parents’ homecoming party. I mean, scratch that, I didn’t meet him at all. I scented him from inside the house before he decided not to get out of the car and face me. The following morning I met his best friend, Reid Terrance. I got the same vibe. The same tight feeling in my stomach that insisted he was my mate.”

“Wow. I don’t even know what to say. Have you seen them again?”

Have I ever. “It’s complicated, but the short version is that Nolan is a witness to a huge crime, and the police are keeping him hidden. I’ve been staying at Reid’s place for the past three days. He happens to be a bodyguard.”

Her mother inhaled sharply again. “Lord. Why don’t you come home?”

“Mom, you know I can’t do that. For one thing, I’m in the middle of my semester, and I refuse to let this situation get in my way. For another thing, neither Reid nor Nolan would ever let me do that. They’re…overprotective.”

“They know you’re attracted to both of them?”

“Yes. They’re best friends. It wasn’t as though I could have kept this a secret. When I’m with either of them, I can’t breathe. It’s like the air is sucked from my lungs. It’s that potent. It’s not like I could ask Alton or Austin or even their mates about how they felt when they met since both couples met when they were very young.” Adriana let her voice drift off.

Beth sighed. “There’s certainly no denying the fact that several grizzly shifters have met lately and known instantly they were fated. Paige and Wyatt are another example. You know I was very young when I met your father, so it’s hard to relate, but I can say that moment when I knew was precise and I’ll never forget it.”

Adriana smiled. “You were fourteen,” she remembered.

“Yes. It was as if I met him that moment and hadn’t known him prior to that day. He’d known. He says he’d known from a ridiculously young age. But for me, it was a specific instant. That rush of excitement that made my body come alive and a tight knot form in my belly.” She sighed.

Adriana knew if she could see her mother, she would find her face filled with the bliss of the memory. She whispered her response. “Well, take that overwhelming rush of excitement and multiply it times two. I know it’s crazy. But I know what I’m feeling.”

Deep breaths. “Honey, I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine the confusion. I don’t even know what to say. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Even though there have been a number of mates meeting and instantly knowing they belonged together lately, none of them met two shifters at once. I’ve never heard of having to choose.”

“Yeah, well lucky for all of them. Fate thinks She’s making a funny apparently. I’m just sorry She’s doing it with my life. I can’t sleep. I’m frustrated. Shaking. Having trouble eating. Can’t study. I’m worried. I don’t understand why this is happening to me, and I feel like I’m in limbo waiting for the Universe to make Her intentions known with far more clarity.

“Every hour that goes by I think something will change. Every morning I wake up hoping I won’t feel the connection to one of them.” Adriana sucked in a sob, even though she’d been trying hard to keep herself together while she spoke to her mom. “Meanwhile, I’m also scared out of my mind worrying about which one I will lose this connection to. I don’t want to choose, but I can’t visualize losing either of them. It’s maddening. If I picture no longer having this connection with one or the other, I start to shake. I’m losing my mind.”

“Oh, honey. That must be incredibly draining. You want me to come there for a few days? Maybe another set of eyes will help. Maybe if you had someone to talk this out with.”

She didn’t want to explain to her mother how much danger Nolan thought she was in. Her mother didn’t need that added stress. But it also meant she didn’t want her mother to come to Calgary. “No. Nothing will change things. It’s not like you could talk me out of my attraction to one or the other. It’s hard to explain. It’s just there. I fear it will never end. It’s like I’m stuck in a groundhog day, and I have to get it right before I’m permitted to find out who I’m meant to be with. But why? What did I do to deserve this insane turmoil?” Another sob, this one louder. Tears fell down her face. She hated sharing this with her mom. She hated how torn her mom would feel. Maybe she shouldn’t have called.

“Honey, what can I do to help?”

“Could you maybe ask around a bit? See if this has happened to anyone else? Maybe if someone has been through it, they can offer advice or at least let me know how long it took for them to figure out who their real intended mate was.”

“Sure. I can do that. Let me speak to your father this evening. See what he thinks. Maybe he knows someone.”

“The Osborns said that Wyatt and Isaiah Arthur met several wolf shifters who have had this happen in Montana. But I have to be honest, that doesn’t make any sense to me. I don’t see how there’s a correlation. Who cares how the wolves choose their mate? What matters here is that grizzlies don’t operate this way. Not normally.” Adriana slumped back against the pillows on her bed, curling onto her side. She could sense another long cry coming on.

Why had she called her mother like this? She’d known it would set her off. She had cried at some point or another every day since Saturday night. She closed herself off physically and emotionally from Reid every evening and let herself feel the emotional overload, silently fighting back the tears, or at least keeping the noisy sobs at bay. The last thing she needed was for Reid to catch wind of her silent turmoil and try to comfort her. She was afraid of where that might lead. She didn’t have the willpower to keep him at arm’s length if he got in her space.

Besides, she’d put on a brave front so far, trying to convince both men she was stronger than reality. She wasn’t willing or ready to let that go yet.

She could sense Reid across the hall from her. His walls were down enough for her to know he was concerned. She hadn’t blocked her emotions well while she spoke to her mother. She needed to end this call. “Mom, I need to go. I have a lot of homework.”

“Homework? You can study under these circumstance?”

“I don’t have a choice. I’m in the middle of my classes. No way am I going to drop out at this point. I find a way to compartmentalize part of every day, pretend this isn’t happening to get my work done. It would be worse for me if I didn’t have school. Sometimes it seems like that commitment is the only thing keeping me sane.”

Her mother gave a soft chuckle. “You call this sane?”

Adriana smiled, wiping her tears off her face with her fingers. “Fair point, but as sane as I can be.”

“I’ll talk to your father, ask around, see what I can find out. Hang in there. There must be an explanation. You’ll figure it out when the time is right.”

“Thanks, Mom. I love you. Give Dad my love too.”

“I will, honey.”

Adriana ended the call and dropped the phone to the mattress, still lying on the bed in a curled ball on her side. She hugged her knees to her chest.

“Adriana? Hon, you’re putting off an incredible level of stress. Talk to me.” Reid’s voice in her head was soothing.

“I’m okay. Promise. Just called my mom. It was…tough. Give me a minute to regroup. I’ll be fine.”

“I’m sorry, babe. Do you need a shoulder? I’m right across the hall, and yet miles separate us.”

“No. I can’t deal with you in my space all the time, Reid. And I don’t mean that to sound insulting. It’s just so stressful. You being in this room would only compound my anxiety. Don’t take it personally.”

“I get it. I won’t come in there., but babe, I need you to know I’m here for you. Anytime. I don’t care what time it is. You can even wake me if you want. Don’t ever think you’re alone in this. You’re not. I’m here. Reach out if you want me to come. Or come to me if you prefer. Don’t shut yourself off to deal with this alone.”

Suddenly, she needed to face him, at least long enough to make sure he fully understood. She uncurled herself from the ball on her side, swung her legs off the bed, and stood. Two seconds later, she was through the door and across the hall, leaning into the open doorway of Reid’s bedroom.

He lifted his gaze, his face lighting up.

She grabbed the door frame. “Don’t get all excited. I just wanted to make sure you understood me completely when I told you this.”

“Told me what?” He cocked his head to one side. He’d been sitting on his bed against the headboard, a book in his hand which he dropped to his lap.

“You don’t get it. You can’t. It’s not the same for you. I’m sure you spend at least a fraction of every day wondering what the hell is wrong with me. And I don’t blame you. You’re only attracted to one person. How can I expect you to understand that the person you desire also feels a connection to your best friend? I can’t. That’s my burden alone. It’s a lonely place to exist. I’m tired. But I don’t have a girlfriend to chat about this with. And you can’t fully grasp it.

“Talking to my mom almost made things worse. She can’t get it either. I’m sure she thinks I’ve lost my mind, and she was placating me. I feel like anyone who finds out will pat me on the back condescendingly and try to figure out a logical explanation for something so illogical it can’t be explained away. I get it. I hear myself tell this saga, and it sounds absurd even to my ears.”

“Adriana…” There was pain behind his eyes and in his voice. He hated that she was hurting.

She did too. But it wasn’t avoidable, and neither Reid nor anyone else could fix it. “Addy.”

He lifted a brow. “What?”

“My friends call me Addy.” Why had she picked this moment to tell him that?

“But Adriana is such a beautiful name. I love it.”

She rolled her eyes as she shoved off the door frame and turned around. Just as fast as she’d appeared in his doorway, she was back in her room with her door shut. Of course he liked her name. It rolled off his tongue like silk. It went straight to her sex every time. Just like when Nolan said it.

They didn’t use the same tone, but both men made her panties wet when they spoke her name all the same. She loved it. She didn’t know why she felt the need to request that they call her Addy in the first place. It wasn’t what she really wanted. Maybe she was testing them. They both passed. As usual.

Dammit. When would something happen to make one man stand out as far less appealing than the other?

She leaned against the door for several moments, trying to catch her breath. She didn’t know what had her so on edge this evening. Could have been the chat with her mom or maybe the trip across the hallway to put Reid in her line of sight again. Not her brightest move. She should have remained sequestered.

She didn’t easily have the ability to test Nolan on a daily basis, but she could push Reid’s buttons. Something had to give one of these days.

Something never did. All she saw every time she looked into Reid’s eyes was compassion and empathy. She was right. He didn’t fully understand her plight. But she was also wrong. He did the best he could to step into her shoes. He couldn’t try harder if he wanted to. He was a saint.

And she was the worst devil imaginable.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to put her unimaginable problems on the back burner. She needed to get some work done. She was behind. She had sketches do for her design class in a few days, and she was way behind.

Five minutes later, she sat cross-legged in the center of the bed with her sketch book open and an array of pencils next to her. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and visualized what she wanted her next design to entail.

A dress, mid-thigh, cut low between the breasts, loose skirt, filmy, slit up the sides, sexy…

She grabbed a pencil and went to work, her hand flying across the page. Instantly she lost track of time. She didn’t know if minutes or hours went by, but she was on her third sketch when she became aware that she was not alone.

She jerked her gaze to the doorway to find Reid standing there, head cocked to one side, brow furrowed.

“Hey,” she murmured. “Everything okay?”

“That’s what I was going to ask you. I was worried. You left my room kinda frustrated, and then I haven’t been able to read you since.”

“Sorry. I’ve been in a zone.” She held up the drawing, though she had no idea why. He couldn’t possibly find it interesting.

He stepped closer, surprising her by taking it from her hands and staring at it closely. “This is amazing,” he whispered as he flipped back through several pages. “And then you turn these into real three-dimensional designs?”

“That’s the plan.” She smiled, feeling a little giddy that he admired her work. Most men would wonder what the point was.

“Let’s go,” he said as he handed it back, a twinkle in his eyes.

“Go where?” She was shocked. They never went anywhere.

He wiggled his eyebrows. “You’ll see.” He backed up slowly, challenging her to follow him with a smirk.

Fine. She’d take the bait. She pushed her supplies aside and slid off the edge of the bed. After stuffing her feet in her favorite cute suede ankle boots, she followed him from the room.

He didn’t say a word, but he was standing at the door that led downstairs to the garage. “Grab a coat.”

Still intrigued, she pulled her coat on over her sweater and headed down the stairs behind him. “Where are we going?” she asked his back.

He spun around at the bottom of the stairs, making her almost crash into him. But his hands were on her waist, steadying her when he spoke, their eyes almost level since she was still two steps from the bottom. “So many questions. Trust me.”

“Okay…” Her heart beat faster, partly from him touching her, partly from the look of excitement in his eyes, and partly from the intrigue of whatever he had planned. Anything to break up the monotony that had become her stupid life.

She climbed into the passenger side of the SUV, thinking how insane it was that her own car was also in his garage parked next to his. Even though he hadn’t permitted her to use it, she felt like an old married couple having it there, like she lived with him.

Did she?

She watched out the window as he drove, sitting on her palms to keep from fidgeting. They headed away from high-rises and the campus toward the north. Soon they were past the suburbs and driving in a less populated area.

That’s when it hit her. She sat up straighter, eyes wide, as she turned to him. “Are we going to run?”

He shot her a grinning glance and winked.

“Oh. My. God. You have no idea how good that sounds. I haven’t shifted in weeks. It’s so hard to do so in the city. In Silvertip I could shift any day of the week and lope off behind my parents’ house. Calgary put an end to that luxury."

“Then it’s your lucky day.” He set a hand on her thigh and gave a quick squeeze before releasing her to grip the steering wheel. It was enough to send an electric current running up her thigh and across her sex. She shivered, squeezing her legs together.

She spent hours every day fighting the attraction. It was going to be tough keeping him at arm’s length while they ran. Shifting was invigorating. It made her feel alive. That scared the hell out of her at the moment.

When he pulled off the highway onto a side road and then off that street onto an even sketchier dirt road, she got excited.

Half of Reid’s mouth was lifted when he pulled the car over. “If I had known how energized you would get from the idea of shifting, I would have taken you every day.”

She grinned, jumped down from the SUV before he could round the hood, and met him on his side. Before he could react, she grabbed his biceps, lifted onto her toes, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I needed this so bad.” Stepping back, she closed her eyes, inhaled to ensure they were alone, and let the shift wash over her. Thirty seconds later she was on all fours, pawing at the ground next to him. “What are you waiting for? Let’s go,” she communicated.

»»•««

Reid shook his head as he watched Adriana bolt into the woods. It was clear he’d been correct to assume she needed to shift and run free. Nevertheless, he was shocked by how animated she was. A side of her he’d not yet seen.

He hurried to shift and took off right behind her, working hard to stay in her wake. She was gorgeous in her grizzly form. Her thick brown hair looked to be the same shade in her bear form, equally thick and lush. The brief glimpse he’d gotten of her eyes before she bolted told him she was playful when she shifted. Excitement danced in her brown eyes.

There was no need to run right on her heels. She was safe. There was no other human or shifter in the area. He would be able to scent them. But he didn’t like her straying too far from him anyway. He could blame it on a desire to protect her. The truth was far different. He liked to be near her.

The last few days had been a bag of mixed blessings. On the one hand, planting himself within yards of Adriana at all times was sheer torture. Her pheromones made his brain foggy and his cock constantly alert. He had trouble concentrating and never fully relaxed even at night.

But it was more than that. Being with her was a pleasure. He enjoyed her. She was funny and cute and smart and sexy all at the same time. Her scent was intoxicating in human form and made his knees wobbly now that they were in grizzly form. Because he genuinely liked her.

And that scared him to death. Every day he fell harder for her, making him scared out of his mind at the prospect of eventually losing her.

It was painful not having more of her, not being able to hold her and kiss her and make love to her. Not having her in his bed. Physically painful. But nothing matched the thought of no longer having her in his life at all. He’d give up ever having sex for the promise of keeping her within reaching distance for the rest of his life.

She surprised him by how hard she ran. Pent-up energy had needed an outlet for a long time. A few times she doubled back, literally running circles around him. She was playful like a cub. It was impossible not to smile inside.

When they finally turned back toward the car, her gait slowing, he stared at her from an angle. He was falling hard. He was going to get hurt.

»»•««

Shocking Joe to the core, Vinny showed up at his office again after only two days of searching. “Found a potential problem, Mr. Stringer.”

“Really. So fast?”

Vinny narrowed his gaze.

Perhaps it was time to give him the benefit of the doubt. “What’d you find?”

“I should have worded that differently. It’s what I didn’t find.” He handed Joe a piece of paper. “Nolan Osborn. Accountant. Met with Rimouski on Friday. Hasn’t been back to his house since I started looking for him on Sunday.”

Joe sat up straighter. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. Kept a close eye on his place around the clock. The man hasn’t been there.”

“Fuck.” If that was the truth, Joe needed to find Osborn as soon as possible. If he knew something and already went to the police, it would make things that much harder. Not impossible. Just harder. “Can you find him?”

“Of course.”

God, he hoped Vinny didn’t disappoint him. If he even smelled like he wasn’t on the up and up, Joe would have him removed from society without even consulting with the boss. Joe narrowed his gaze. “What’s your secret, Vinny?”

Vinny frowned, his gaze never wavering. “No idea what you mean, Mr. Stringer.”

Joe chuckled. “Oh, I think you do. To be this close to Rimouski’s inner circle after only a few months on his payroll, you either have to be sucking his cock, or you know something. And since Rimouski is currently unavailable for blowjobs, I’m going with the latter.”

Vinny’s gaze narrowed more than usual. “I don’t know anything special, Mr. Stringer. I’m just a guy the boss hired to work for him.”

Joe chuckled again. “Yeah, well I’ve got a beachfront property in Saskatchewan I’m selling if you’re interested in that too.”

Vinny’s brow furrowed, his aggravation palpable in the room. “I won’t let you down. It’s in my best interest as well as yours to get the boss out of custody. Why would I jeopardize my job?”

Why would he? That was the million dollar question. Joe sincerely hoped he never found out.