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DANTE

Dante’s heart stopped. Nothing existed except the pair of bright-hazel eyes pinning him down.

“Hey, glad you could make it.” Ollie Hudson smiled, dimples cutting into his soft, pale cheeks, his tumble of blond hair surrounding him like divine light.

Dante’s heart restarted, thudding so hard it reverberated through his body. The apartment around Ollie came back into focus. Dante cleared his throat. “Uh. Me too.”

Ollie’s lips quirked. “Want a drink or something?”

“That would be wonderful, thank you.” Dante rubbed the back of his neck, butterflies rioting in his chest. Had that sounded all right or was he being too formal?

Ollie turned away, navigating around a well-worn couch and heading for the kitchen in the small apartment he shared with Harper.

Dante’s gaze cut to his demon brother Ash, finding an assessing look in his eye. Dante had to get it together. He was powerful and thousands of years old. Self-control was easy. Or it would have been if not for the man eagerly returning with two beers .

Damnation, that smile. Ollie pulled off angelic beauty so naturally that it wasn’t fair. Angels weren’t even real.

Dante couldn’t do this. He shouldn’t have come to dinner.

Ash, whom he’d known for millennia, recently found his mate, Harper, the young witch living with Ollie. Ash and Harper were the first mated pair out of the Fallen. Before Ash, most demons believed they’d never find their mates.

Being around Harper and Ash breathed new life into Dante’s tired soul. Seeing their bond strengthen as they doted on each other was everything Dante imagined finding your mate to be. But letting the pair drag him into Ollie’s presence was complicated.

Dante ached for his mate. His heart bled. He’d never lost hope he’d find his fated love, damning him to a wait that had become more agonizing with each passing century.

His gaze cut back to Ollie, snagging on his lovely curls. They’d be soft under Dante’s fingers. His skin too. Ollie’s round face gave him an air of innocence, even as mischief gleamed in his green-and-brown-flecked eyes.

He was perfect.

“How do you and Ash know each other?” Ollie asked as he handed Dante a beer, his keen gaze dragging slowly down Dante’s body.

Dante’s blood heated, and he willed his demon fire to calm. “We’ve known each other since we were young. We…uh…” He paused. “We moved here together some years ago.”

Ash snorted, and Harper elbowed the bulky demon in the side.

Dante couldn’t tell Ollie he was a demon, or that he and Ash hadn’t so much moved as fallen to Earth in search of their mates thousands of years ago.

Ollie was human and unaware of the magic world.

He had no idea beings other than humans existed, and with their wings, tails, and horns hidden, Dante and Ash looked like nothing more than large men.

“You picked a good place to move. I love Shearwater Landing.” Ollie’s dimples reappeared. “It’s such a great city. Coming here for school was the best decision I ever made.”

Dante shifted closer to Ollie, pulled by an invisible force strangling his heart. Ollie’s subtle scent of sandalwood on a fresh early morning filled Dante’s lungs, urging him to embrace Ollie and breathe him in.

It could only mean one thing.

Dante stood next to his mate. His damned demon soul screamed with the truth of it, a gut feeling so strong his whole body was electrified.

His wings itched to come out, the tattoos on his back prickling. Dante rolled his shoulders, his legs threatening to give out. What if he gave in to relief and dropped to his knees, reached for Ollie’s hand, and pressed his lips to Ollie’s skin?

He’d be right where he was meant to be.

After thousands of years of searching, he could finally be home.

“I can’t imagine living anywhere else,” Ollie went on, oblivious to the way he’d changed Dante’s life.

“Me either,” Harper agreed, throwing an adoring look at Ash.

Dante swallowed past the lump in his throat. He had to get his shit together. He’d freak Ollie out if he kneeled and professed his eternal devotion.

He’d suspected Ollie was his mate when they’d first met. The encounter had been brief but enough. Today confirmed he hadn’t imagined it. Ollie was his.

Ollie’s phone chimed on the coffee table, and he scrambled to grab it. His cheeks turned red as he swiped a notification away, then stuffed the phone in his pocket. “Stupid app.” He rolled his eyes.

Harper frowned. “Is it that guy again?”

“Not that one, no.” Ollie shot Harper a cryptic look and took a swig of his beer. He crossed the room and cozied up to his friend’s side, saying something too quiet to hear.

Was Ollie messaging men on a dating app? A rumble started low in Dante’s chest.

Ash appeared at his elbow and thumped his back. “You good?”

“Fine.” Dante cleared his throat.

“You might want to stop growling,” Ash muttered.

“That wasn’t a growl.” Dante couldn’t tear his eyes from Ollie. He focused his demon sense to pick up what Ollie was saying.

“I might go for it,” Ollie whispered to Harper. “He’s hot…”

Ash pinched Dante’s arm. “Don’t eavesdrop. It’s rude.”

Like Ash was one to talk. Dante turned away from Ollie and narrowed his eyes at his oldest friend. “He’s talking about seeing some other man.”

Ash’s hard brow furrowed, then his eyes widened. “So he is your mate.”

Flutters erupted in Dante’s chest. “How…how did you know?” He hadn’t shared his suspicions with Ash.

Ash’s lips twisted in a smug smile. “Why else would you care who he sees? I knew it. Well, I hoped he was your mate when you first met him—the way you reacted—but I didn’t want to pry.” Ash gripped Dante’s shoulder. “Congratulations, brother. I’m so happy for you.”

Dante couldn’t appreciate Ash’s warmth. “Congratulations are premature. He’s human. How will I ever explain this to him? ”

Ollie laughed at something Harper said, sending tingles down Dante’s spine.

Ash seemed nonplussed, his face hard as stone once more. “I thought Harper was human when I first met him. It’s not impossible to work through. Besides, you have us to help. Enjoy this moment, Dante. You fucking deserve it.”

Some of Dante’s tension melted away. Ash was right.

He should enjoy the way Ollie overwhelmed his senses, calling to him like a siren’s song as the beginning of their bond sparked between them.

He’d imagined finding his mate for so long, seeing this moment as the finish line when it was actually the beginning.

There was no rush to explain anything to Ollie. Surely, he’d feel the connection too. It would all happen naturally.

Dante approached Ollie and Harper across the living room. They’d stopped whispering, a lull in their conversation. Hopefully, he wasn’t interrupting.

“What did you study when you moved here for school?” Dante asked Ollie.

Ollie’s attention snapped to Dante so fast he had to feel the pull between them. “I went to the city’s vocational school to become a hairstylist. I gave Harper his new look. Black suits him, don’t you think?”

Harper ruffled his hair.

“It looks good.” Dante’s gaze slid back to Ollie. “So does yours.”

Ollie bit his lower lip. “Thanks. Um, so what do you do?”

What did he do? Dante couldn’t exactly say he was once in Lucifer’s inner circle and now a sworn enemy of the Devil. “I’m involved with looking after the local shearwater population.”

“Cool, like a biologist?” Ollie stepped closer.

“Yeah, I’m a conservation biologist.” It was close enough to the truth. Dante had built a magical connection to the shearwaters in the area, creating his flock of loyal birds. He’d protect them and conserve their habitat at all costs.

A crease appeared on Ollie’s brow. “Are shearwaters endangered?”

His immediate concern warmed Dante’s core. None of his chosen brothers understood his love for the birds. “No. The sooty shearwater is near threatened, but luckily not endangered.”

Ollie’s eyes widened. “Near threatened sounds ominous.”

“It’s not so dire. They’re two classes away from officially endangered.”

“Oh right. Well, that’s good.” Ollie gazed into Dante’s eyes and seemed to lose track of his words. He shifted subtly closer, his head tilted up.

What if Dante leaned down and covered Ollie’s lips with his?

“Yes, it’s a good thing the birds have Dante to look after them,” Ash said with a laugh, sliding past them into the kitchen.

Ollie blinked and took a step back, averting his eyes as he sipped his drink. “Do you need a hand with anything, Ash?”

“No, I’m good.” Ash grinned as he tied a small apron around his massive body. “Relax and enjoy your evening.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice. I’m going to put my feet up.” Ollie’s attention returned to Dante. “Wanna join?”

“Lead the way.” Dante would follow his mate anywhere. Do anything. But he’d start with getting to know him.