Alpha Adrian (on hold)

THREE

The darkness glowered, chilling her with its sinister intensity. She clutched the man next to her. He was hard all over, a brother of the cruel metal and concrete that surrounded them.

He was the only rough surface that she wanted against her.

Adrian felt just about ready to blow a gasket. Minutes before the ceiling embraced the floor, he had been notified of suspicious guests. He would have never imagined that some jackasses would bring his building down.

How cruel would it have been if the garden that was his mate was crushed just seconds after he laid eyes on her?

He molded her tighter to his side, making sure that her face was covered with his jacket. He needed to dig them out. She wasn't equipped with the elaborate survival system his own body had.

Why did he have to find her this very day?

"What were you doing here?" he found himself mumbling.

She coughed, pumping more worry into his system.

"I needed to see Lana Miller."

Lana?

What business did his mate have with his sister? Only important clientele could reach Lana or himself, and Eva wasn't one of their clients. He would have recognized her lithe frame and minty fragrance the second he crossed her. Then, he would have growled so possessively that he would have done a better job at collapsing the ceiling than the damn terrorists.

This was definitely their first meeting.

"Your name," he grunted, before remembering that humans weren't used to hearing grown men growl. "What is your name?"

"Eva."

He took a second to stitch his surname to her.

Eva Miller.

He was barely able to reign in his beast's snarl of satisfaction.

"I'll take care of you. I'm... Lana Miller's bodyguard."

Until he knew what business Eva had with his sister, it was best to hide his identity. Technically, he hadn't lied to her. As Lana's brother and alpha, he was in charge of her safety. Lana often complained that he breathed down her neck, but he'd rather hear her bickers of irritation than cries of pain.

"What's your name?"

Panic choked him, and he blurted the first name that he could generate.

"Albert."

A cringe was in order.

"Okay. Thank–" she stopped to cough.

He frowned. This was bad. He needed to have Eva safe and happy under his bed's covers instead of the rubble of his skyscraper.

Her human status was quite unfortunate. While it didn't make her any less appealing, it would have made the process of easing her into his life much smoother.

"I need to release you to get my phone, okay?"

"No!"

Her hands joined her speech of demand by gripping his button-down shirt hard enough to rip some buttons.

For a second, she was glad that the darkness veiled her shameful expression.

God, you look so clingy. Granted, the guy is sexy, but you need to get a grip.

Her hands squeezed him tighter.

A different kind of grip, Eva.

"Eva," he sighed. "I'll be right here. There's nowhere for me to go."