Page 46 of Demon's Mate

“Hm.” Onyx’s tone made his doubts clear.

“I don’t think you were mistaken.” Dante got up from his armchair and paced in front of the open doorway. “I noticed something strange with my flock this morning.”

Ash narrowed his eyes. “Strange how?”

Dante stopped pacing. “Several birds died.”

“Died?” There had to be more to it than that.

“Yes, but I’m not sure how.” Dante frowned. “I couldn’t see anything in the collective memory, but it was too many at once for the deaths to be natural.”

Onyx twisted to his side, propping up his head with a hand. “You think it was Luc?”

Dante rubbed his eyes. “Possibly, but I don’t see how Luc could have killed them without the others recognizing his magic and telling me.”

A few dead birds wasn’t exactly a shocking development. If it were Luc, why not kill the whole flock and take out one of their advantages?

“If he were here picking off birds, I’d sense him,” Ash insisted.

“Maybe he just doesn’t care about us.” Onyx glared at the fingernails on his other hand. “He could have left the Realm for some other reason. Maybe the birds ate poison or something.”

“I doubt Luc’s gotten over our escape and decided to forgive us and leave us be,” Dante snapped, losing his patience with Onyx.

What had they been discussing before Ash arrived? Dante didn’t usually get short with Onyx.

“Well, I’m going out.” Onyx got up from the couch and straightened his clothes. “You two are boring, and talking about birds isn’t getting us anywhere.”

Neither Ash nor Dante gave him the satisfaction of responding. Onyx walked out without another word.

Dante returned to his armchair. “It could be nothing, but my gut is telling me those birds didn’t die naturally or by any human poison.”

“You searched the area where they died?”

“Yes. There was no trace of magic.”

Ash glanced out the window. “Where were they?”

“Near the waterfront, on the rocks out at the point.”

That wasn’t far from their nests on the cliff near Dante’s house. There was no way Luc could have been that close without Ash sensing his magic, even as distracted by Harper as he’d been. Besides, Dante or Onyx would have detected him that close.

Ash settled on the vacant couch. “We’ve chosen to sit and wait. So that’s what we’ll have to do. Maybe Luc is biding his time, trying to lull us into a false sense of security, hoping we’ll get careless the longer he stays away.”

“Maybe.” Dante scratched one of his horns. His were taller than Ash’s, curving up and out rather than back along his head. “I’d still rather take a stand here than run and hide. At least this way, we’ll only be looking over our shoulders for so long.”

Ash agreed, even if he wouldn’t have a week ago. He’d rather deal with Lucifer and put this firmly behind them. Now that he had his mate to consider, running from Luc was too unpredictable and carried too much risk.

Ash hoped they could wrap up this conflict with Lucifer for good, then he could claim his mate and focus on giving him the life he deserved.

“Why are you so sure your mate will be in Shearwater Landing?”

Dante quirked a brow in surprise. “It’s just a feeling. I’m certain this is the place. I can’t explain it beyond that. Why?”

“Just curious.” Ash tried to ignore the twist in his gut.

He couldn’t bring himself to tell Dante he’d found his mate. What if Dante’s sure feeling had been about Harper and not Dante’s mate?

“You aren’t going to tell me I’m being delusional?” Dante gave Ash a playful smile.