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ASH

Ash followed Harper from his apartment to Port Shearwater, flying along behind him. He’d never seen Harper go so far from home. What was he up to?

His curiosity vanished the moment a man began following Harper down a deserted industrial street.

Harper had been extra vigilant as he’d moved through the less frequented parts of the city, but he clearly became uncomfortable the moment the man turned up, his posture tensing and pace picking up.

What should Ash do? This must be who Harper was hiding from, but why was a witch stalking a human?

Harper turned and must have gotten a better look at the witch because he broke into a run. Ash’s pulse skyrocketed.

The witch ran after Harper.

Ash growled and sped up, diving low so he could grab the witch off the street like a bird of prey might snatch a mouse. His demon fire sparked inside him. He wasn’t letting this guy get anywhere near Harper. Maybe he’d interrogate the witch and figure out what in damnation was going on.

As he closed in, about to snatch the witch, another appeared, attacking Harper and dragging him down a side street. Ash’s blood boiled and he tasted smoke. These men were dead. He didn’t need to know their aims. It no longer mattered why they were after Harper. No one laid their hands on his flower.

Abandoning the first witch, Ash landed in the side street in time to see the second witch smother Harper with a rag. The foul stench of potion hit Ash’s nose as Harper went limp.

Ash dropped his illusion of invisibility and charged forward, ripping the man away from Harper. He held his sweet flower against his chest and closed his other fist around the attacker’s throat. Ash sent demon fire burning through his veins and into the man as he choked him before dropping the limp body to the ground, smoke rising from his charred skin.

The other witch hesitated at the end of the street, mouth gaping as he took in Ash’s full demon form. He didn’t give the witch time to cast a spell. Nothing would save him. Ash released a bolt of lightning, hitting the man in the center of his chest and sending him to his damned afterlife.

Ash heaved a breath, his heart beating like it was trying to break free from his chest, putting up more of a fight than it had in at least two hundred years.

He checked Harper, brushing his disheveled hair from his brow. With his demon sense, Ash inspected the residual potion lingering around Harper’s nose and mouth. It was meant to incapacitate, not kill, but that was a small comfort. Harper was uncommonly pale, his eyes closed and face slack. Ash’s chest ached at the sight of his flower like this. Moisture prickled at the corners of his eyes.

He had to protect this young man. He had to keep him.

He had to make this right. Harper belonged in Ash’s arms and deserved better than Ash denying it .

Ash forced his demon features away and his wings melded into his back, his horns and tail following suit. “Flower,” he murmured, holding Harper closer.

Harper blinked, his eyes glassy. He parted his lips like he was going to say something, but his head lolled and his eyes fell shut. He’d be okay once the potion wore off. Ash could read the spell well enough to be sure, but Ash wanted Harper alert now. They had to figure out what came next.

The only way to undo the potion’s effects would be to suck the toxin from Harper’s blood, but Ash wouldn’t do that without Harper’s permission. He couldn’t taste Harper for the first time like this, not when…

When Harper was his mate and a blood connection would mean so much more than it ever had before.

Ash glanced at the bodies strewn around the street. He’d killed two witches without hesitation for Harper, an extreme course of action and a complete overreaction, except in the case of protecting his mate. That was the only reasonable explanation for going this far.

His mate.

The man in his arms was the one he’d waited millennia for. He’d tried to deny it but couldn’t let Harper go, no matter how hard he tried. He couldn’t stay away. He’d do anything for Harper, anything to hold him like this, anything to make him smile.

Possibilities bloomed within Ash, filling him with a lightness like he’d never known, but it was quickly followed by a sour reality. Finding his mate, being this close, and having the opportunity to bond taken away terrified Ash. But he couldn’t deny what was happening anymore.

He’d found his mate and needed to take care of him.

Ash shoved the bodies behind a dumpster and cast an illusion over them, rendering them invisible. Fuck, he loved that specific demon trick. He’d deal with them later.

He flew an unconscious Harper back to his apartment and landed on the roof.

Ash lingered, a breeze ruffling his feathers as he cradled his flower. How would he explain being mates to Harper? He would have to reveal himself as a demon, but first, he needed to figure out how much Harper knew about the magic world.

Except, Harper hated Ash, and rightly so. Ash needed to clear that hurdle before revealing all or Harper might not want to hear it. He had to get this right.

Finding his fated mate didn’t mean everything would work out smoothly. Lucifer was coming, and who knew what the Eternal Realm might do if they discovered one of the Fallen had finally found their mate. There were still so many unknowns. So many ways for this to go wrong.

Harper would choose Ash, wouldn’t he? He’d want to cement their bond once he realized what it was, right? The possibility that he wouldn’t made Ash feel small, like a breeze might blow him away as if he’d never been there at all.

But he was getting ahead of himself.

He carried Harper down the stairs to his apartment and shifted Harper in his arms so he could reach the doorknob. Human locks weren’t a problem for demon magic.

Ash grabbed the knob and frowned. A protective spell had been cast on the lock and—a further inspection revealed—the whole dwelling.

The protection was strong, buzzing intrusively against Ash’s senses. He examined it until he found a way to unweave it and let himself into the apartment.

He closed the door.

Harper must have had someone cast the protection for him, but Ash was surprised by how impressive the spell was. Most witches weren’t that strong. He’d broken through it easily, but he was a demon. It would have taken a witch much longer…if they could have gotten through at all.

Interesting.

Ash didn’t sense anyone else in the apartment, and he’d watched the building enough to be confident Harper’s roommate was away at this time of day. He carried Harper down the hallway and through the living room to the bedroom facing the street.

He lay Harper on his bed and pulled a blanket over him.

The room was sparse, with no decoration or personal touches. Something Ash hadn’t noticed when peering in from across the street. The lack of a homey feeling was unsettling. His flower deserved better than this. Why did Harper seem to have almost no possessions?

Ash set Harper’s shoulder bag on the floor. He itched to snoop through it and the few things in the room but resisted. Harper wouldn’t appreciate that, and Ash didn’t need to dig himself a deeper hole.

With nowhere to sit other than the bed, Ash leaned against the wall and watched over Harper. He untied the T-shirt attached to his belt and pulled it over his head. No need to alarm Harper when he woke up by showing too much skin.

Eventually, Harper stirred, shifting in the sheets and making a soft little sound. He blinked awake and gasped, sitting bolt upright, and looked around in confusion.

His terrified gaze landed on Ash. “What’ s happening?” Harper’s eyes darted around the room again like he was trying to piece together what he’d missed.

“You’re safe, Harper. You’re home.” Ash pushed off the wall but didn’t get too close.

“What?” Harper stared at Ash, his eyes going wide. “Wait… You—you had fangs.”