9. Adam

9

Adam

A s he wandered through the back alleyway of this neighborhood—a small part of the Sullivan Clan’s vast territory—Adam wondered if it was always this dark and shitty. Granted, he and his team had never paid much attention to this section of their turf simply because it wasn’t profitable, but it was still their domain and they had kept it under check.

There were homeless here and there, curled up in their chosen spots, their beds for the night, keeping whatever small belongings they had close to them. Most of the ones here were beastkin, which wasn’t surprising because the Sullivan did not reject them, as some in other territories did. For beastkin, it was regarded as a haven here, if they could endure the constant hassle they received daily from the street gangs that had only recently become very active.

The street gangs that must be put in their place, Adam decided. Just because he walked out didn’t mean they could go free rampaging about the neighborhood as though they themselves were the king of the territory.

As he strolled along the maze of alleyways, he was whistling his favorite tune, ones he made up to sound both pleasant to the ear yet eerie at the same time. Tunes he had always used when he went on business like this one.

A few homeless must have heard him—the urban legend that was The Beautiful Monster—approaching, and they poked their heads out, perhaps out of curiosity. The moment they saw him, they gasped in terror and hastily scurried back to their dark spots, hidden away in alleyways. Adam didn’t pay them any mind and continued on his merry way. Soon, he rounded another back alley. There, he headed toward the three gang members patrolling the site.

Since the street was dark, from a distance, one could only see the silhouette of his tall, lean frame, and the moment the gang members saw him, they were on the defense. One asked, “Hey! Who are you and what the fuck are you doing here? This is private property. Leave if you don’t want to get beaten up into a pulp.”

Private property? Yes, of course this was private property. His property. Beaten up into a pulp? He wanted to laugh at that. We’d see who would get beaten up.

Adam raised a brow. “I’m wounded you don’t recognize me.”

The man snorted and then said, “Recognize you?” He laughed. “What, you a celebrity or something. Why should I recognize you?”

Adam smirked and then said, “I’m no celebrity, but you should at least recognize my favorite tune, idiot.” He marched forward, and with a swish, he slammed his mighty fist into the man’s face, sending him to the ground in one blow. Blood spurted out from the man’s nose as he lay there on the ground, already unconscious.

Adam turned to the other two, who looked damn shocked at what had just transpired. For sure, they hadn’t seen Adam strike, just him walking toward them and then…

One shouted, “You!” and lunged forward.

Adam was ready and easily evaded the oncoming fist by sidestepping. He then sent his own fist onto the man’s neck, followed by his leg to the man’s limbs, striking the man in one powerful blow and breaking the man’s bones in the process. As that one fell to the ground, unconscious, he swiftly swung his elbow back and smashed the other man’s face as he advanced on him. Adam rotated and kicked the man in the chest. The violent attack thrust the man back to slam against the wall of the building.

As the man slid to the ground, unconscious, Adam was already heading to the door. Inside, as expected, it was dark and dingy and smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. He descended the stairs to the underground basement, a typical place for street gangs to gather.

Here, Adam noted about thirty members. There was a group playing cards while others were doing cocaine and drinking and chatting and making jokes. There was another group located in the far corner of the room, cheering among the loud noises of chattering and the pounding of music, and Adam knew exactly what was happening there.

He had no doubt Shiro had been here before, at least once, and assaulted by these men, just like those two beastkin youth. One was a catkin and the other a rabbitkin, both tamed and weak, easy targets for these bastards.

Raged erupted within him, and he saw red.

He walked farther in, and without so much as a by-your-leave, he sent his fist smashing into the one’s face closest to him, rendering the man unconscious in an instant as he fell to the ground with a thud. The group next to that man noticed him then, and Adam welcomed that attention. He grinned darkly, his smoky eyes glinting menacingly.

He went all out, smashing his fists and kicking his legs into faces and body parts that came his way, dispatching grown men, throwing them back with his raw strength alone. He had already taken down about ten men when the group on the other side noticed his presence. Well, it was to be expected since this place was fucking rowdy, what with the ear-piercing death metal music and loud shouting, cheering, and laughter.

Tony, the gang leader, finally realized there was something going on that required his attention. He moved back from the catkin boy and pulled up his pants. Then, with a smirk on his face, he marched toward Adam.

Since the room was dimly lit with disco light flitting here and there, none of the men knew who Adam was, not until someone switched on the main light and everyone saw his face .

There were audible gasps all around, and Tony suddenly went pale as a ghost as he stopped short in his tracks a good distance away from Adam.

“Adam,” he said, his voice shaky. “What… What are you doing here, sir?”

Adam noticed a smudge of dirt on his expensive suit jacket, probably from the fight just now. He clicked his tongue as he brushed it off with the back of his fingers, a fearsome, dark frown on his face. Once he was slightly satisfied that it was clean, he flicked his icy gaze to Tony, who was currently shaking in his boots.

“You fucked up my boy,” Adam said coldly. “It’s time you pay.”

Tony blinked. “What? Your boy, but, sir, I—”

No one saw what happened, but the next thing they knew, Tony was pinned against the wall on the other side of the room, Adam in front of him and his hand around Tony’s throat.

Tony was choking, tears in his eyes as he struggled to breathe.

With one hand, Adam tightened his hold and lifted Tony—a bulky man—up against the wall until his feet was dangling off the floor.

The other men were tense and obviously terrified as they watched in silence. A few had already sneaked off and ran away, but of course Adam didn’t need to worry about them. He knew they’d be taken care of out there.

“I believe you did something like this to him?” Adam said. “I saw bruise marks on his neck. Such a beautiful, slender neck.” He leaned closer. “And the most beautiful blue eyes and the softest white hair.” He looked at Tony’s oily, unwashed hair. “And a pair of very cute fox ears.”

Tony’s eyes grew wide, and if he looked freaked out before, he was frozen with terror now.

“Sir… It was… It was a mistake…” Tony managed to get out.

Adam, his beautiful face a hard mask, said, “There is no mistake in our world, Tony. I was lenient enough to let you and your gang roam in this part of the neighborhood, but no more.”

“Please, sir…” Tony begged. “I…”

Adam tightened his hand around Tony’s neck until he almost passed out, tears running down his face, his eyeballs bulging out. Then and only then did he loosen his grip and thrust the man to the side.

Tony’s heavy body landed on the floor. There, he heaved and coughed, struggling to breathe as his entire being shook—an unpleasant sight, one he used to enjoy watching on others, beastkins especially. But now, it was his turn, and the experience was fucking unpleasant.

Adam shifted his gaze to the two beastkin boys huddling close together, whimpering in the corner. One was staring at him, frightened, while the other was hiding his face.

Turning back to the rest of the gang members, he said loudly, his voice firm and cold, “Don’t ever step foot in my territory again. You all know of my reputation. I give one warning, so let this be that one warning. If I see any of you in my territory again, I will kill you. If I hear anyone of you doing something this disgusting again, terrorizing the beastkin or other homeless, I will hunt you down and kill the lot of you.” With that, he turned on his heel and headed to the beastkin boys.

He came down to one knee and reached out his hand. “Come.”

The cat boy stared at him for a moment and then hesitantly placed his shaky hand in Adam’s. He drew the boy up, and the rabbit boy stood, too. As he led them toward the stairs, the two beastkin boys stayed close to him, their eyes wearily on the other men watching them.

Once outside, as expected, Adam saw Nolan there, leaning his tall, lean frame against the wall of the building on the opposite side of the alleyway. Close by was Lan, the wolfkin boy Nolan had picked up from the street and was now the brother’s personal bodyguard. Scattered here and there were about twenty of the Sullivan’s men.

One of the men came up to him, and Adam said, “Take the boys to the clinic.”

The man nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Once the two beastkin was taken away, Adam finally said to the other men, “Go and make sure they receive a good service from the Sullivan.”

Instantly, the men filed in through the door, and it wasn’t long before cries of terror echoed across the neighborhood.

Running his fingers through his hair, Adam walked to his brother and said, “Because of you I can never get any peace.”

“Because of you I have to run the fucking clan for six fucking months. Come back, Adam. I’m no good at it. You’ve already seen what a failure I am. I don’t have that terrifying factor like you do.”

“No, you don’t,” Adam agreed. “But I won’t come back just yet. Give me a little time to have some fun, will you?”

“Because of that beautiful foxkin boy?” Nolan asked. “I admit he’s pretty and very fuckable, but shit, Adam…” He sighed. “Luka and Shane are making it hard for me to work. I’m no challenge for them, those bastards. I’m too soft for this sort of shit. Calum knew you were the right man for the job. I’m working hard not to lose any money, but I can’t guarantee that for the next three to four months.”

“Give me until Shiro leaves,” Adam said.

“Ah, so it’s up to that boy, eh?” Nolan chuckled. “Such a small, insignificant boy and he has that much power over you.”

Adam snorted. “You’ll understand the feeling when you meet one someday.”

Nolan stiffened as he shifted his gaze to Lan, who was now standing a little distance away, his slender back to them as he kept watch. Adam noticed.

“I fucking hope not,” Nolan said.

Ah, still in denial. What a stubborn brother.

“All right, I’ll hold down the fort until that little darling of yours decides to leave, but no longer than that. Fuck, but what happens if he decides to stay longer than expected?”

Adam shrugged. “Then we’ll see.”

“Adam,” Nolan said darkly. “If you don’t return, I swear I’m going to walk out, too, and Calum’s hard work will be for nothing. Your hard work for the past ten years will be for nothing. Our clan will be taken over by either Luka or Shane.”

“That won’t happen,” Adam said. “Because I won’t let that happen.” He sighed. “It seems I can’t just walk out on that life, after all.” With that, he turned on his heel. “By the way, either tell the men to fuck off or remind them to be more inconspicuous. Their presence is freaking Shiro out.”

Nolan chuckled. “I’ll remind them to be more inconspicuous, but it’s a no to them fucking off. It’s for your own safety.”

Adam tsked. As he walked past Lan, the boy turned to nod at him.

“Take care of my idiot brother, Lan,” he said.

Lan nodded. “Yes, sir.”

Adam ruffled the boy’s hair, stroking Lan’s wolf ears, and Lan let out a small, low moan.

Beastkin did that, didn’t they? Gave out that cute, low, satisfactory, feel-good moan when you caressed their ears. He wondered if he’d get the same reaction from Shiro.

Loudly, Nolan said, “You’re distracting Lan from his job, you idiot brother!”

Adam knew he had annoyed Nolan, and he chuckled as he removed his hand. Instead of apologizing, which he never did anyway, he said, “See you later.”

As Adam walked away, Lan said, “I wish Master Adam would come back soon.”

Nolan glanced at the boy’s profile and asked, “You worried about him that much? Then why didn’t you offer to be his bodyguard instead of mine?”

“Because Master Adam doesn’t need a bodyguard, but you do, and I’m worried about you. You’re very stressed when Master Adam isn’t around and it’s not good for your health.”

Nolan growled lowly. He reached out and ruffled the boy’s hair. “You idiot wolf. Stop talking nonsense.” He sighed and then turned to look at the building behind them. It had gone eerily quiet now, which meant Tony and his gang members had either been beaten to a pulp or worse, died, which was expected in their part of the world.

“That boy,” Lan said. “He must be something very special, don’t you think, Master Nolan?”

Nolan raised a brow, turning his attention back to Lan. “What do you mean?”

Lan said, “The boy who has the power to bring Master Adam out of his sabbatical leave.” He turned to look at the door, the men now returning, smirks clearly showing on their faces. “Master Adam initiating that. It’s a declaration, isn’t it? That he won’t tolerate shit.”

Nolan snorted. Lan was right, of course. Suddenly, he had an idea and just knew it was going to be fucking entertaining.

Lan narrowed his eyes when he saw Nolan’s dark smile. “Master Nolan, you’re onto something again, aren’t you? If you awaken the wrath of Master Adam, remember I’m not going to help you.”

Nolan ruffled the boy’s dark hair. “Idiot! I won’t do anything to anger Adam. I’m not that stupid. But it’ll at least bring him back sooner.”

“Oh, then I support whatever plan you have, sir.”

Nolan tsked. “How many times do I have to tell you not to be so formal with me.”

Lan said, “But you’re my boss, so I have to be formal.”

Boss, eh? Fucking boss.

What fucking boss wanted to kiss and fuck his own too cute of a bodyguard, Nolan thought. Fuck, he simply wanted to stroke those wolf ears and watch that pretty face melt in pleasure.

He cleared his throat and said, “Let’s get moving and clean this shit up.”

“Yes, sir,” Lan said.

It was well past midnight when Adam arrived back at Chase’s clinic, and upon heading toward the rear entrance, he encountered Chase standing there leaning back against the wall of the building and smoking a cigarette. Close, Adam took the joint from his friend’s hand and threw it to the ground where he stepped his foot on it, squeezing out the light.

“Smoking kills,” he said. “You’re a doctor. Practice what you preach.”

Chase snorted. Well, Calum, a chain smoker, did die from lung cancer, which still affected Adam, and more so, Nolan. Ever since Calum’s passing, Adam had the habit of telling him off for smoking, which Chase didn’t mind. Rather, he found it amusing, since he knew Adam was worried about him .

Folding his arms across his chest, he asked, “So, you took care of Tony and his gang?”

Adam nodded. “I should have done that a while back,” he admitted, his face dark.

“Never too late,” Chase said. “But those two boys, they’re pretty fucked up. I have no doubt Shiro must have gone through something like that.”

Adam nodded.

“When I checked Shiro, apart from the scratches and bruises, he appears fine.” He whistled. “Beastkin are resilient, aren’t they, even after a deadly beating? I mean, the exterior showed signs of severe trauma, but the internal, wow, not a scratch.”

Adam didn’t miss the rhetorical tone and knew Chase was suspecting something. He ignored that and asked, “Anything about Shiro I should be concerned about?”

“We ran the tests,” Chase said. “So far, nope. Nothing sinister to worry about. Just malnourished, which is expected, considering he was in the institute and then living on the streets.”

“That’s good,” Adam said. “I just need to feed him then.” He chuckled. “He’ll have to eat until I’m broke.”

“Yeah, it was a joke, okay,” Chase said. “Beside the fact that you’ll never go broke. You’re a fucking billionaire, Adam.”

Adam snorted. “And what about you? A billionaire who decides to run clinics on life support in need of donations?”

He shrugged. “Hey, I’m a doctor. Gotta act poor. Luka and Shane have been very generous though. My other clinics in their territories are doing very well. ”

“Only because your team members are the ones they can depend on to save their clans’ lives,” Adam said. “Of course they’d have to be generous. You go out of business, they won’t live to see the light of the next day if they fucked up during a business operation.”

Chase nodded. “True.” He straightened and then stretched. “Ah, fuck, I miss that cute redhead. He hasn’t been around today. Must be busy.”

“Miss him sucking you off or miss him, miss him?” Adam asked.

“Don’t make it sound like I’m so heartless,” Chase said. “I do miss him, miss him. He’s amusing to be around. Teasing him is so much fun. He’s a good boy, working hard doing whatever he can to help.” He changed the topic then and said, “I thought you should know, Shiro said he was given injections every month back at the institute. I have no doubt it’s just like the others, to suppress his innate potential. Foxkin do have great strength and agilities, even if they are generally small.”

“The institute afraid the beastkin would fight back and start a riot,” Adam said. “They have to go that far to suppress them. How amusing.”

“So said the man with the genes of an alpha wolfkin in his blood,” Chase said. “Be careful, Adam. Despite the fact you don’t have the animal characteristics like most beastkin do, your ability to bring fear and terror to the masses and your overbearing strength and agility alone are already putting you on the institute’s watch list.”

“The institute’s watch list?” Adam snorted. “I’m not surprised. I run a mafia clan, Chase.” He turned on his heel. “I should take Shiro home. Where is he?”

“He’s with Janet, helping her with the two boys,” Chase said. “I’ll go get him for you.”

“Mm-hmm,” Adam responded.

Before he disappeared around the corner, Chase said, “Oh, and I’ve given Shiro some meds.” He winked. “His vitality will be back to normal in no time.”

Adam narrowed his eyes. “Just because you’re my best buddy doesn’t mean I won’t beat you into a pulp, Chase. If you give him anything funny…”

Chase chuckled. “Just some painkillers and supplements to boost his healing. Boy, but beastkin have great regenerative abilities, don’t they?”

Again, that rhetorical, teasing tone. Chase knew, Adam thought, that he had done more than just take Shiro home after the beating and treat the boy’s injuries.

But of course, the friend wasn’t wrong where beastkin’s regenerative abilities were concerned. Adam knew that firsthand because, after all, he was a beastkin. Well, not a beastkin beastkin to be precise, but rather, a hybrid one—just like Chase himself, Nolan his brother, and both Luka and Shane, that didn’t have the small animal characteristics. They were the rare type that could blend into society and bring about devastating chaos, the type the institute and the government greatly feared. A new type of evolution where beastkin looked just like normal people and then shifted into either their alpha or primal forms whenever they desired. But of course, to most, their type were merely urban legends.

Oh, but how little did they know. How very little. They thought they had the beastkin under control, but that was far from the truth.

“Wait in the foyer,” Chase said.

“Mm-hmm,” Adam responded. Inside the clinic, he was just walking along the corridor and rounding a corner toward the foyer when he heard the door open and then bang shut. This was followed by light footsteps. Curious, he retraced his steps, and then he stopped short.

Standing there frozen before him was a redheaded fox boy, staring at him, looking freaked out as hell, his emerald-green eyes wide in terror.

Wow! Just wow! No wonder Chase was smitten. This youth was beautiful. Strangely enough, the boy reminded him of Shiro, Adam thought with intrigue.

The boy took a tentative step back, his eyes still on Adam. Then he swirled around and sprinted out the door again, like the devil was chasing him. Adam thought about going after the boy, but decided against it. He’d only scare him even more. Those eyes, he had seen the likes of them before on Shiro, signifying great terror. He wondered if it was his alpha wolf aura. But of course, he hadn’t meant to scare the boy. The aura came naturally to him, just as moving his body at lightning speed and exuding overwhelming strength in fights came to him.

Damn, did he just ruin Chase’s lucky night? Oh, well. It wasn’t like Adam himself was going to get any of that either tonight or in the near future. Turning on his heel, he headed toward the foyer to wait for Shiro.