BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) (65 page)

              Adrien heard the words as if from a great distance. Well, that was just about the last thing he ever would have expected Harris to say. What the hell was that damn bear up to?

Chapter 2

              Morgan glanced from Adrien, to that rude man he’d introduced as Harris, and back again. Adrien looked like he had just been struck with a battering ram. His honey colored eyes were dazed and unfocused and she could see a furrow forming in his brow that she had never seen before, not through the worst customers they’d ever had at the bar. His expression said something was wrong. Very wrong.

              But what was this ‘choose’ ceremony anyways? Choose what? Or maybe she heard him wrong. Maybe he said ‘shoes’ ceremony. The thought made her chuckle a little to herself, imaging a row of shoes and everyone walking around picking one they liked, trying on different styles. She pictured Adrien in her own black patent four inch heels and the picture almost made her giggle out loud. But his face cut off her humor.

              He was staring at her. Or glaring at her, she couldn’t quite tell from where she was sitting, but she had had just about enough of being left in the dark for the evening.

Morgan moved to stand and walk over there but she caught the infinitesimal shake of his head and she plopped back down into the hard wooden bench. What the hell was going on? He’d said this was some kind of joke, pretending to be his fiancé, but it definitely didn’t feel like.

              Morgan glanced around the room of Adrien’s ‘sort of’ friends as he’d called them, noticing the tightness around their eyes, the tension thick in the room. She wasn’t the only one who kept shooting looks at the two men. She noticed then that she was on the receiving end of many of those looks herself. Seriously, what the hell? Did she have food in her teeth or something?

              As surreptitiously as she could she held up her napkin and wiped at her pearly whites, just in case. She definitely didn’t want to have a rogue piece of spinach stuck in her teeth if Adrien kissed her again tonight. The thought had chills shuddering through her body. Did she want him too? Hah! Did she even need to ask herself that question? After the explosive reaction between them at the bar the night before, there was no doubt left in her mind that there was something worth pursuing between them. Now, if they could just get through the rest of this long, weird evening, maybe she would even think about inviting him up to her apartment for a beer or something.

              Lost in her own delicious thoughts, she didn’t notice Adrien’s face turn absolutely green and then bright red as Harris began talking once again, this time too quietly for anyone else to overhear.

*

              “There’s always a way out of course, if you aren’t quite as in love with your bride to be as you’re pretending,” Harris’ voice slithered across his nerves like cold grease. Adrien took a deep breath, trying to untangle the sudden web of thoughts firing through his head, chief among them how satisfying it would be to knock out the tribe leader then and there. He hated being manipulated. He hated feeling forced into doing something, and that was exactly what the old bear was trying to do.

              “Listen, Harris, I don’t know exactly what you’re trying to pull here, but I’m not–.”

              “Not what, cub?” Harris spat the words, cutting him off as he continued in a biting tone, all the more chilling because of its quietness. “Not a lying piece of shit, just like your father was? Not really in love with that exquisite creature you showed up here with tonight? Not even actually engaged?”

              Adrien stared wide at Harris for a long moment, his pulse beating hard and heavy through his veins. He felt froze, unable to move, to speak, to even think. And then, the anger fallowed, thawing his blood and he came up swinging. Figuratively, anyways.

              “I’m leaving. I want no part of whatever scheme you have, I want no part in this at all.”

              “Oh, it’s far too late for that, sonny boy.” Harris growled, and there was a malicious smile on his gray, wrinkled face that had panic churning in his gut. “Your father made sure of that.”

              “I am not your son, and never will be! What is that supposed to mean, anyways?” Adrien shot back, but Harris ignored his question.

              “Break off the engagement with that…girl,” Harris gestured to Morgan with a smirk, and it had the blood suddenly at a boil. All of his defensive instincts rose up at once, demanding that he leap to her protection.

              “You don’t know a damn thing about Morgan, she is the–.”

              “She is just a girl, and a human at that. Break off the so called engagement, marry my daughter.” Adrien could have heard the unspoken ‘or else’ from a mile away and he recalled the story he had overheard too many times that night to count. A girl, mauled to death by a bear that shouldn’t even be in the area. There was no doubt in his mind that it was a local shifter, and that knowledge turned his temper fired blood to ice.

              Adrien turned away, inevitability sinking like a lead weight in his gut. He took two steps and then turned back to Harris, still standing there with a victoriously smug look draped over his shaggy brows and hanging jowls. He still thought he’d won. Had never even contemplated the fact that Adrien would do something unpredictable, unprecedented, and completely insane.

              “You know what, you’re right, Harris.” Adrien turned to look at Morgan, so beautiful sitting there alone, his pretend fiancé that was about to become a whole hell of a lot more. He wouldn’t be a part of whatever mad scheme Harris had concocted, and he sure as hell wouldn’t spend the rest of his natural life with that harpy, Sera. Harris arched a smirking brow as Adrien continued. “It is too late.”

Harris’ expression turned from smug to confused as Adrien turned to the rest of the room, his friends and family that had all but abandoned him years ago. And now he was back, once again at their mercy. “I would be honored to partake in the Ceremony…with my fiancé, Morgan!” His last words were drowned out as everyone began to clap and whistle. It was something ancient, and special, and the tribe understood the gravity of what he was saying. Too bad the girl in question didn’t. She was staring at him with a million questions in her beautiful gemstone eyes. Too many for him to answer, even if he knew how. Which he sure as hell didn’t.

              He risked one glance at Harris, and his face was engorged and turning an awful shade of purple that had him momentarily hoping it was a heart attack and they wouldn’t have to go through with this ridiculous farce after all. Unfortunately, there was no luck there as his daughter rushed over, shrieking in a piercing tone that it was all wrong, that he had failed her, and that she hated him before stomping off into the darkening evening outside.

*

              “Adrien, what is going on?” Morgan stood with her hands planted firmly on her hips, determined to get a straight answer this time. Unlike the other times when she’d asked him what the ceremony was, where they were going, and why the hell where they tromping in the middle of the Nevada valley forest at almost nine o’clock at night.

              Adrien shrugged again, and tried to sidestep her, but she was having none of it. Enough was enough.

              “Adrien, I am wearing four inch heels, it’s pitch black out here, and I’m not moving another inch until you tell me what’s going on!” Her voice started to raise there towards the end, but she couldn’t help it. There was more, something so much more, than she understood, going on here but by the serious expression on his face, Adrien did.

              “Morgan, I…it’s hard to explain.” Adrien shrugged, again, and Morgan grit her teeth to keep from taking off her mud caked heel and whacking him over the head with it.

              “Just tell me, Adrien. Something is going on, and I deserve to know what.” She huffed into the night air, watching his beautiful golden eyes cloud over in thought. They caught at the moonlight, and it shimmered there in the depths in ways that had her wishing she could stare at them forever. She pulled herself back with a jolt. She had to stay focused. She was on a mission. To find out what the hell was going on.

              “You’re right,” he finally sighed, and every word sounded like it was forcibly dragged out of him. “You do deserve to know.” He took her by the elbow and led her a little way away from the crowd of people that had followed them from the dinner. There was a sense of celebration, of joy and excitement around them that was contagious despite her confusion. It was obvious these people cared for Adrien, she could see it in the way they looked at him, but there was also history there, and by the way Adrien had stiffened when they had arrived early, not all good.

              “This all just got so…complicated,” His deep voice pulled her back to forest path she was currently tapping her high heels on. “It was supposed to be easy. Just pretend to have a fiancé for a night and it would all be over and done with.”

              “What would be all over and done with?” She asked him with a brow delicately arched. Her patience had started to turn south about an hour ago, and she was done with him dancing around an answer. “Just tell me, Adrien. Maybe I can help with…what ever it is.”

              He barked out a harsh laugh before sweeping his fingers through his hair. Finally, he looked back at her and sighed out into the night. Her heart clenched at the utter consignment wrapped up in that single exhale. Like a man walking towards a noose with no way back.

              “Thank you. Thank you for saying that, but there is no helping me now. Come on, it’s just a little further,” he said as he reached out and grasped her hand. She took his without even thinking, twining her fingers through his as if she had been doing it her whole life. It felt as natural as breathing to be walking through the dimly lit woods, holding hands with him and that thought caught her off guard. It shouldn’t be normal, nothing about this night had been normal, and yet, it felt so right she couldn’t make herself let go.

              They walked for a few more minutes before Adrien pulled her to a stop and she couldn’t contain the gasp at the sheer beauty of the place. The tree line had broken open to reveal a glade of soft dewy grass that looked like emerald velvet in the night. Birds were whistling softly as vines and honeysuckle wound their way up tree trunks and roots. And the entire glade was lit up by what looked like a million fireflies, all busily bumbling through the moonlit air. It took her breath away.

              “Oh my god, Adrien. It’s…it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.” Immediately, she tried to etch the scene into her memory, to capture the exact feeling so she could pull it out and try to recreate it on a canvas. She wasn’t even sure if it was possible. Pure wonder flooded through her, and she knew a big part of it was the feel of Adrien standing so strong and solid next to her, his warm hand still wrapped around her own.

              “Adrien, what is this place?” She asked, her voice hushed as if in a cathedral, because that’s what it felt like. Adrien looked a round for a long moment, his expression conflicted, before he finally answered.

              “This is the ceremony grounds. This is where the Choosing Ceremony takes place.”

Chapter 3

              “Adrien Black, step forward,” The deep voice of one of the tribe’s elders intoned.

              “Adrien, what is a choosing ceremony?” Morgan hissed at his back, but there was no stopping now. He would be mated to her for the rest of their lives, while she would be free to go whichever direction she pleased. Adrien swallowed hard, trying to still the elephants stomping around in his stomach. He couldn’t remember ever being as nervous as he was in that moment. There had to be a way out of this, there just had to be.

              He glanced around the crowd of his clan members surrounding them in a half circle, most of their faces lit with joy and happiness, although some were noticeably expressionless and in some cases frowning in distaste.

              “Adrien Black,” The deep voice said again, “It is time to step forward.” With a jolt he realized it was himself being called to the front of the glade, in front of the several hundred-year-old tree whose gnarled branches twisted and turned like a living thing in the dim illumination of the moon and stars above. It was him who was being summoned, taking part in this ceremony he had never thought would happen, if he was truly honest with himself.

              He had been cut off from the tribe for so long, it was a shock to be back almost as much as how natural it felt to be amongst them once more. They were bound together by something he could never truly escape, stronger than history, or anything that had happened in the past. They were bound by blood, by family. By their secrets and their way of life. The very thing that they were.

              For a moment, he let himself look back at Morgan. She was so beautiful standing there in the moonlight that he couldn’t breath for a moment, she stole the very air from his lungs. Her dark auburn hair shone, and her eyes caught the light of the stars and reflected them back at him until all he could see was her gaze locked onto his. Everything around him quieted and for the first time all night he felt a sense of peace settle over him. Maybe things wouldn’t go quite as terribly as he had thought.

              “Adrien Black, st–.”

              “Step forward. Yeah, I know. I got it.” Adrien muttered cutting off the elder who cast him a censorious look that had him instantly feeling like a school boy being called in front of the principal instead of a grown man about to make one of the biggest decisions of his life.

              The peace fled and his nerves were back and galloping around his chest in heavy waves that made it hard to breathe.

              “Adrien Black,” The elder said, then paused giving him another sharp look that warned him not to interrupt again and Adrien tried to look as innocent as possible. “Adrien Black, you are here tonight in the ancient grove to take part in an ancient ceremony. A ceremony as old as our people. So say you?”

              Adrien stared at him for a long moment, but didn’t truly see him. All he could focus on was the spot between his shoulder blades he just knows Morgan was mentally shooting laser beams at. She would be so pissed if she knew what was really happening. Well, it was a good thing for him he had no intention of telling her. There was no way he could tell her, explain to her. And besides that, he wouldn’t want her to feel an obligation to him. Not if she didn’t really care for him.

              This wasn’t the way these things were supposed to happen, but Harris had forced his hand. After this night, he planned on staying well clear of that deranged bear and the tribe for as long as possible. He could sense something coming in the air, in the tension of the clan, the restlessness in the forest itself.

              From the first moment he had stepped into the woods, his animal half had been pacing, constantly itching to break free, to run wild. But this wasn’t the time. He snuck a glance behind him, quickly looking away from Morgan’s furrowed glare. Now was definitely not the time.

              “So say you?” The elder asked again, an edge of impatience riding his raspy voice and Adrien faced forward once more.

              “So say I.” He said heavily, and as the words landed softly onto the warm summer air, he could feel them begin to settle on top of his skin. So soft he almost didn’t feel it.

              “Who joins you?” The age old words rang out. Finally, Adrien turned back to Morgan, holding out a hand. He mentally pleaded for her to just go along with it, and the glare she shot him meant he would no doubt pay for this later, but eventually she took a step forward and slid her palm along his. It felt like coming home, that touch, and it shook him, the enormity of what he was about to do. He took a deep breath. Harris really had been right. It was far too late for him.

              They stood there for a long moment before Morgan looked at him, then back to the elder, then back to him again. Just as she was about to open her mouth and spill the hundreds of questions that were probably tumbling through that head of hers, the elder’s words interrupted.

              “Who joins you?” There was a distinctly annoyed note to his voice this time and Adrien fidgeted nervously. This had to work. They had to go through with this. Because if they didn’t he would more than likely end the night mated to Sera and he was sure he would prefer almost any sort of torture to that.

              Finally, Adrien elbowed Morgan in the ribs and she jumped before shoving him slightly if conspicuously right back.

              “Say your name.” He whispered.

              “Why?” She whispered back to him, thankfully just as quietly.

              “Just go along with it. I’ll explain everything later.” If he was lucky, he would be able to drop her off, give her a kiss, and make up some excuse so that he could flee before ever having to. The thought of kissing her again had his mind momentarily stalling, but one look at the elder’s ever darkening face had him leaning towards her gain.

              “Just say it. Please.” He begged earnestly.

              “Morgan Fevereau.” She finally answered, and the elder gave them both a sharp nod before continuing. The rest passed by in a blur for him with both of them repeating what ever words were necessary. Later he tried to remember exactly what they were but couldn’t. He could, however, recall exactly how it felt. With ever consonant and syllable spoken, he could feel them wrapping around him, sinking deep, so deep inside that he would never get it out again. It was like he was complete for the first time in his entire life and he wanted to roar out at the incredible feeling of it.

              And at the same, his entire body ached, because he knew that Morgan would never feel the same. There was a slim possibility, he knew there was a way for humans to be bound just as bears were, to make the bond go both ways. But the odds of Morgan doing that were astronomical. He glanced at the stars shining like diamonds in the deep black velvet of the night sky. Maybe even less than that.

              He felt her hand still clasped in his, tighter than before and he looked over. There was a warmth shining in her emerald eyes. Maybe she did sense a part of the amazing thing that was happening between them. The magic that had started the moment he had kissed her the night before and every moment since that had led them both to this moment. He belonged with her, he could feel the incredible sense of togetherness he felt with her and her alone. His mate.