Adan

by Catherine Lievens

  “So, Adan. I don’t know if you know Emery. He’s a Krsnik, a half-vampire, half-shifter hybrid.”

  Emery snorted. “I’m not a hybrid. Krsniks are a species of their own, not a mix of two other species.”

  “Right, sorry.”

  Adan had no idea what Jared was trying to say. It wasn’t like Jared expected him to react anyway, so he kept his eyes on the painting and focused on the leaves. He knew their order and colors by heart, and he sometimes wished Jared would change the painting. It was useful when Adan needed to retreat in his body, though.

  “I’m sure you’re wondering why we’re here, so I’m going to go straight to the point. We think we might know what’s wrong with you, and I’m not talking about the catatonia.”

  Adan’s eyes had to have a mind of their own, because his gaze snapped to Jared even though he knew he shouldn’t give Jared attention if he didn’t want him to start digging.

  “He’s not a talker, huh?” Emery asked.

  Adan wanted to roll his eyes, but he kept himself in check.

  “Adan hasn’t talked since he came here, and that was more than a year ago,” Jared said. “But hopefully he’ll be able to stop hiding in his mind once we solve this problem.”

  Adan didn’t want to get his hopes up, but he couldn’t help it. It might have been different if he hadn’t met Yanis, but Jared was dangling the possibility of a normal life in front of Adan like a carrot, and Adan wanted to reach out and grab it so badly it almost hurt.

  “Yanis came to talk to me yesterday, and he told me about what happened. He said it felt like a tentacle had sunk in his chest and had sucked out his stronger emotions. He also said you looked better after that, more rested, and I have to say I agree. You do look healthier,” Jared said.

  Adan had never intended for anyone to find out about that. He himself didn’t know what it was, but he didn’t want to hurt people. He didn’t want people to be afraid of him, either, but the fact that Yanis wasn’t there today was probably proof Adan had managed to scare him away. He wasn’t doing a great job of staying in his trance-like state, especially the last couple days, and Adan could only blame himself.

  “I felt something similar once or twice, although I’ve never actually been touched,” Jared continued. “I went to talk to Jayden and Isaiah, and Jayden was able to tell me what you could be. He gave me a list.”

  Jared dug in his pocket and came out with a folded piece of paper. “So far, it looks like you could be an Incubus, but they usually feed on sleeping people, so I’m thinking that’s out. Jayden also wrote down a list of creatures he’s seen in movies, but I’m not even going to read them out to you.” He paused and looked at Emery, who rolled his eyes. “Anyway, we narrowed it down to one possibility, and since it’s a creature Emery knows, he’s here to help us decide if that’s what you are.”

  “Way to make the tension rank up,” Emery said.

  Adan shared that opinion. He’d never been told what had been done to him while he was in the lab. He just knew he’d left the lab being a lot different from when he’d gone in.

  “I’ve been searching for a solution to Adan’s problems for more than a year. I deserve this,” Jared protested.

  “Just tell the man before he goes crazy. If he isn’t yet, ‘cause Gods know I would if I’d been trapped in my mind for a year.”

  Jared put his paper down and looked at Adan. “We think that whatever was done to you in the lab made you an empathic vampire.”

  Adan had had every intention on staying stoic, but he hadn’t expected Jared to tell him he was a vampire. He gaped, his eyes going wide at the idea of sucking blood. Jared beamed at him and Adan hurriedly tried to cancel the emotion on his face, but Jared leaned forward and patted his hand.

  “I talked with Emery before coming here, and I think I understand why you’ve been keeping yourself in catatonia. Well, it wasn’t really catatonia, but I’ll just call it that anyway, okay?”

  Adan didn’t answer. He waited for Jared to explain, because he had no clue what Jared was talking about.

  “Empathic vampires don’t feed on blood, but on emotions,” Emery said, finally putting Adan out of his misery. “I encountered a few of them, but they’re very rare. I’m actually surprised Glass was able to find one and to use his DNA to mess with yours.”

  Adan looked at Jared again. Jared nodded. “Yes, we think that’s what happened. We didn’t realize it before because it was a much smaller change. We looked for something like what we found in Troy and we didn’t find anything. It’s probably both because you were already a shifter, and because empathic vampires don’t shift. You’re also still mostly shifter, which is why you’re not dead of starvation yet.”

  “I’m guessing you decided to pull yourself inside your mind after something bad happened,” Emery said. “Maybe you sucked someone dry of emotions.” He waited for Adan to answer, but Adan didn’t trust himself to. He could feel both his bobcat and the thing inside him pushing to get out, and it was taking all his focus to keep them both in.

  “Right,” Emery continued. “Well, I highly doubt you were trained to control your vamp half, which is why you sucked someone dry. You probably didn’t even know what you were doing. But I can help you, at least a bit. I’m not sure how your sucking thing works exactly, but it can’t be too different from mine when it comes to the compulsion to feed. I think you can control the feedings so that you can make sure you don’t hurt anyone. You’ll have to be extra careful in the beginning, because you’re so starved, but maybe you could try with your mate, since it looks like you were able to take only a bit from him.”

  Emery got up, put his hands on Adan’s bed, and leaned forward until they were so close their noses almost brushed. “So, what do you think? Are you ready to get out of your mind and come back to the living?”

  * * * *

  Yanis hauled the last of his boxes into what was now his room. He put it on top of the pile he’d made in the corner and slumped on the bed. He wanted to go see Adan, but he needed a shower first. He hadn’t realized he’d managed to gather so much stuff in the year he’d spent in Gillham. He’d had to use a lot more boxes than he thought he’d need.

  He had the hardest time getting up again, and when he did, he realized the box with the clothes he needed was on the bottom of the pile. He sighed and started to move boxes around, pushing most of them under the bed. He could always put his stuff away later.

  The room Dominic had given him was big, bigger than the one he’d had when he lived in Gillham, although he and Ira had shared a house there, while here he shared it with dozens of people. He didn’t mind less space if it meant Adan would be in the mansion, though. Besides, they didn’t need that much space, especially if Adan would stay in bed most of the time.

  The bed was on the left of the room. It looked big enough to hold three men, and Yanis was glad, since he tended to move a lot while he slept. There were two windows and a walk-in closet that was next to the bathroom. A small reading nook had been arranged next to one of the windows, with a small couch and an armchair. There was a small table between them and empty shelves on the wall. It was cozy and a little bland, but that would change once Yanis and Adan settled in.

  Yanis took a pair of sweats and a long-sleeved T-shirt from the box and took them with him in the bathroom. A pile of towels had been left on the counter next to the sink, a piece of paper on top of it. When Yanis looked at it, he saw the rules of the house were written on it. It was nothing he hadn’t expected—don’t leave a mess in the communal areas, take turns at cooking and cleaning, don’t go around the house naked, things like that.

  He showered quickly, even though he wanted to stay under the spray of water longer. He hadn’t told Adan he wouldn’t go see him that morning, and he didn’t want Adan to think he’d already run, especially after what had happened the day before. Going to Gillham with Ira hadn’t been planned, but since the two of them were moving, they needed th
eir things as quickly as possible.

  Yanis left his room and walked to the infirmary. He was just entering the hallway where the infirmary was when a voice stopped him. “You!”

  Yanis looked behind himself and found a pink-haired guy looking at him. Yanis knew who it was without even having to ask him. Nysys was becoming increasingly famous in Gillham. “Yes?”

  Nysys stopped right in front of Yanis and looked at him. “You’re new.”

  “Yes.”

  “Why are you here?”

  “Why are you?”

  Nysys frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “Why did you stop me? Is it just because you want to gossip?”

  Nysys gasped. “I never gossip. I gather information. It’s not the same thing.”

  “If you say so.”

  Nysys narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think I like you.”

  “Oh, I’m wounded.”

  “As you should be. I don’t know how you’ll survive without my awesomeness.”

  “Right. I think I’ll go now.” Yanis turned to walk away. He wasn’t surprised when Nysys followed him. “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

  “Nope. Morin’s at work, Keenan is working, too, and I don’t have lessons today.”

  Yanis knew who Keenan was, because where Nysys went, Keenan followed, but he had no idea who Morin was, and he wasn’t about to ask. “And you decided following me would be a good idea.”

  “Yup. I still don’t know who you are. You could be one of those hunters, as far as I know. Maybe you infiltrated the mansion and you’re looking for Dominic so that you can kill him and wipe out the council.”

  “If I was, don’t you think I’d have killed you? Not only are you a council member, but you also can’t seem to shut up.”

  Nysys narrowed his eyes as Yanis pushed the infirmary door open. “Are you going to kill me? Are you taking me to the infirmary so you can strap me down and torture information out of me? I won’t tell you the recipe for my super chocolate cake, no matter what you do to me!”

  Yanis cocked his head. “I’m not sure if you really are as crazy as you seem to be or if it’s just a show.”

  “He’s crazy,” Jared said from his office.

  Yanis grinned at the indignant noise Nysys made and strode to the office. “Hi.”

  Jared looked up from his paperwork. “You’re here to see Adan?”

  “Of course.”

  “Why would he be here to see Adan?” Nysys asked from behind Yanis.

  “Because he’s my mate,” Yanis answered, not even looking at him.

  Nysys made a strangled noise and now Yanis had to look back. It wouldn’t do him any good to be accused of killing the pride’s mascot. Nysys looked fine, though, if a little surprised. “Your mate?” Nysys pushed Yanis to the side and stomped into Jared’s office. He pointed at Yanis. “That guy’s Adan’s mate?”

  “Yes.” Jared answered.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you found Adan’s mate?”

  Jared leaned back in his chair and linked his fingers together on his stomach. “Why should I have?”

  “Because! I always know everything that happens in this house. I can’t lose my reputation over something so important!”

  “Right. Nysys, meet Yanis, lion shifter and Adan’s mate. Yanis, you already seem to know Nysys.”

  Yanis shrugged. “Not really. I’ve heard of him, like the entire shifter population probably has, but that’s it. I didn’t know he was so annoying.”

  Nysys huffed. “I’m sure of it now. I don’t like you.”

  Yanis pressed his hand over his heart. “Again, I’m so hurt.” Damn, he was having the most fun he’d had in a while. Maybe living in the mansion would turn out to be a good thing, and not only because Yanis got to be with his mate.

  He looked at Jared again. “Any changes?”

  “I need to talk to you.” Jared looked at Nysys. “Alone.”

  Nysys pouted. “I’ll make myself so small you won’t even notice me.”

  Yanis looked at Nysys, from his bare feet with green-painted nails to the top of his pink hair, passing by the tattoos and piercings he could see. “I don’t think that’s possible.”

  “It is. I swear I can go unnoticed.”

  “I don’t believe you. Your hair is enough to make everyone notice you, and like I said before, you never seem to shut up.”

  Nysys pressed his lips together and made a gesture of locking his mouth and throwing away the key. Yanis rolled his eyes and looked at Jared. “Maybe we should go into Adan’s room.”

  Jared got up. He pointed at Nysys. “Stay here or leave, I don’t care, but don’t follow us, or I’ll talk to Morin about what you’re up to when you’re here.”

  Nysys batted his lashes. “I’m not up to anything.”

  “Your look-how-innocent-I-am look doesn’t work on me. Go away, Nysys. Go bug someone else. I’m sure Nate is bored right now.”

  Nysys beamed. “Oh, it’s been a while since I last bugged him. I’m sure he needs a good dose of Nysys in his life.” He looked at Yanis. “I have enough gossip to make Keenan jealous anyway.”

  “I thought you didn’t gossip,” Yanis said.

  “Right. I have enough new info that Keenan will be jealous.”

  He bounced out of the room. Jared came up to Yanis, shaking his head. “I wish I had half the energy he has.”

  “I don’t think the world is ready for that.”

  “Wait until you see him and Keenan together. That never ends well.”

  Yanis shuddered. “Please tell me they’re not twins or something.”

  “They’re not, but they’re so similar they could be. Keenan is a bit more sedate, but only a bit, so when you put them together...”

  Yanis groaned. “What have I gotten myself into?”

  Jared laughed and patted Yanis’ shoulder. “You’ll get used to it. They might be troublemakers, but they have hearts of gold. Once they accept you in their family, it’s for life, and you couldn’t find better friends. They’ve spent a lot of time with Adan, and I’m sure it helped him feel less lonely.”

  Yanis frowned. “I thought people in a catatonic state didn’t feel lonely.”

  “Right, you don’t know yet. Come on, let’s go find Adan. I have a lot to tell you.”

  * * * *

  The door opened and Adan looked toward it. He’d given up on staying still after Emery had poked him on the nose for close to ten minutes in the hope to make Adan move. It had worked, and it had taken all of Adan’s will power not to punch Emery. Emery had left Adan’s room with a grin on his face, telling him they’d meet later. Adan wasn’t sure he was happy about that.

  But it wasn’t Emery who stepped in the room. It was Yanis, and Adan felt a weight lift from his shoulders. He hadn’t made his mate run away. Yanis was back, and he didn’t look angry or scared. He made a beeline for Adan’s bed and sat next to him, taking his hand.

  Adan’s bobcat purred in his mind and the thing extended a tendril. Adan had almost no problems pulling it back, and it surprised him. The tendril had felt lazy, like it just wanted to touch Yanis. Maybe it was because from what Emery and Jared had said, Adan’s emotion-sucking part had fed the day before, so it didn’t need to today. That didn’t explain why it had reached out to Yanis in the first place, although it probably had something to do with his bobcat recognizing their mate.

  Adan squeezed Yanis’ hand back and Yanis jerked. “What the—he tightened his hand!”

  Jared nodded and sat in the same chair he’d used earlier. “That’s what I need to talk to you about. I talked with Isaiah and Jayden, and we realized Adan isn’t really in a catatonic state.”

  “But you said he’s been this way ever since he arrived here.”

  “Yes, but it’s not catatonia. He’s the one keeping himself locked in his own mind.”

  “Why?”

  “You told me about the thing tha
t touched you and took your emotions yesterday.”

  “Yes.”

  “That’s why, as far as we can tell since he won’t talk to us yet.”

  “Are you going to explain it or do I have to torture it out of you?”

  Yanis’ voice didn’t hold heat, and Jared didn’t look scared of Yanis’ threat. “I’m getting there. With Jayden and Emery’s help, we managed to pinpoint what Adan is now, at least partially. The labs played with DNA a lot, and they did it in Adan’s case, too, but since he was already a shifter, they mixed his DNA with DNA from another creature. I didn’t even know they existed before Emery told me he’d met a few, but Adan is now part empathic vampire.”

  Adan felt Yanis sag a bit against him, and Adan smacked down the tendril that reached for him. It was easier to control today, and that was a relief.

  Adan knew the tendril really was a part of him now, but it was easier to think about it as a separate being, especially since he wasn’t able to control it very well if he wasn’t in trance. Even then, it was only easy to control because Adan focused on that alone. If anything distracted him, the tendril usually managed to escape his control.

  “What does that mean for him? Why is he still like this?”

  “It means he has to feed on emotions as well as food. He’s still like this because he doesn’t have any idea how to do that without hurting the person he feeds on, or so we think. He’s using the trance to keep himself from feeding. I’m guessing it’s the only way he has to have complete control over his power.”

  “How can we help him?”

  “Emery thinks he can help.”

  “Who’s Emery?”

  “He’s a Krsnik. It’s a vampire and shifter mix. He’s not an empathic vampire, but like I said, he’s met a few.”

  Yanis tapped his finger on Adan’s knuckles. “He fed from me yesterday.”

  Jared nodded. “Yes, or at least we think so.”

  “He didn’t hurt me.”

  “That’s probably because you’re his mate.”