Page 38 of Demon's Heart

“Mating bond?” Snippets from the beach came back to Ollie. “You said I was your mate. You were talking about Harper. That man said…” Ollie’s chest tightened as whispered words filled his mind.

“You think he loves you, but he doesn’t. He’s lying. You’re nothing but a little plaything to him, and now he’s going to watch you die, and it won’t even matter.”

Dread stole the residual warmth of the shower from Ollie’s body. Claws dug into his neck. He snapped his eyes shut. What the hell had that evil man—being, demon, whatever—been saying? Dante didn’t love Ollie. Why did that murderous shithead think so?

Why try to kill him because of it?

“Who was that?” Ollie managed, his voice sounding small and afraid.

Dante tilted Ollie’s chin up until their eyes met. “That was Lucifer. Ash, Onyx, and I escaped him many years ago, and he’s trying to hunt us down.”

Ollie’s stomach dropped like he was falling. The Devil wasreal? Ollie’s legs turned to jelly, and if it weren’t for Dante holding him, he’d have crumpled to the tile floor. Everything he wanted to say stuck in his throat.

Dante held him close, whispering. “It’s all right. You’re safe now. I won’t let him hurt you again.”

Ollie pulled himself together, forcing his knees to do their job and hold him up. He nodded into Dante’s chest even though he wasn’t sure Dante could promise safety.

“I’m sorry you got pulled into this,” Dante continued. “If I’d known there was any risk Luc would be back so soon or that he’d come to the beach, I never would have taken you somewhere so exposed.”

At last, Ollie found his voice. “You said demons aren’t what I thought. But the Devil is real? You’re scaring me, Dante.”

Another small whine escaped Dante. “I’m sorry. Ollie, I’m so sorry.”

Ollie could feel how much Dante meant it. It was strange, almost like he could read Dante’s mind. Not his exact thoughts, but his intentions, his emotions. Ollie sensed a regret so deep it was hard to breathe.

“It’s okay.” Ollie wrapped his arms around Dante, the desire to comfort overriding everything else. “You saved me. Tell me how you saved me.”

Dante’s tense muscles relaxed beneath Ollie’s hands. “I linked us through a mating bond. As my mate, you have my healing powers and immortality. Once we were linked, you saved yourself with your newfound power, healing the wound Luc inflicted.”

Hold the fucking phone. “Immortality?” Ollie croaked.

“Yes.” Dante nodded, solemn as ever. “Your life will now be as long as mine.”

Ollie’s mind rebelled. That wasn’t possible. But neither wasrecovering from having his throat gouged open. He trembled. How was he supposed to accept any of this?

That feeling of wrongness reared its ugly head, carving out Ollie’s insides. Maybe Dante was wrong. “You said the bond wasn’t complete. What does that mean?”

“To form a mating bond, we both need to accept the connection, but you were unconscious.” A shadow passed over Dante’s face. “I did as much as I could, but without you accepting, the bond will remain incomplete. That’s what we’re feeling.”

“Can we break it, get rid of it now that I’m healed?” Then Ollie could be a normal, mortal person again and wouldn’t have to try to understand any of this.

Dante flinched like Ollie had hit him. “No, we can’t.” His voice was painfully soft. “It’s irreversible. We’re mates. There’s no going back from this type of magic.”

Ollie’s pulse raced, a heaviness settling over him. “Okay. We’re mates.”

What the fuck did that mean? He wouldn’t have chosen to be Dante’s mate if he’d been asked. Mates sounded intense. So did being immortal. But it wasn’t like he’d have chosen death over this. He trusted Dante. And Dante had done something unfathomable to save him.

“If I accept the bond, will I feel better? Like myself again?”

There was no way Ollie could live with this itchy hollowness inside him. If he focused on the feeling too hard, he’d start crying again.

Dante adjusted the towel around Ollie’s shoulders, studying Ollie’s face closely. “Yes, if you accept, you’ll feel like yourself again.”

“Then, I accept.” Ollie waited, but the pit inside him seemed to grow.

Dante guided Ollie out of the shower, through the bathroom, and into the adjoining bedroom. “Saying you accept isn’tenough. I think we need to go through the ritual again, with you actively participating.”

Ollie pulled away. “Wait, you mean a mating ritual? Like sex?”