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17

ASH

“They aren’t the only ones looking for me,” Harper said at last.

Ash clenched his jaw. “I see.”

The problem was worse than he thought.

If only Harper would explain, but he clearly had trust issues. Could Ash really blame him? It wasn’t as if Ash was being honest. He could have revealed his true nature and laid all his cards on the table rather than let Harper think he was a vampire. But he wasn’t ready.

At least they’d cleared up what happened the night of their hookup. He’d been able to tell Harper the most essential truth, and now Harper didn’t seem to hate him.

He should earn Harper’s trust before revealing the whole demon’s mate thing anyway. And Ash really couldn’t expose himself without talking to Dante and Onyx. Even if Harper was his mate, Ash needed to be sure Harper would keep his demon nature to himself. Harper needed to trust Ash and understand why being a demon was a secret to be kept at all costs, especially now that Lucifer was in the Human Realm.

Ash would have to protect Harper from Luc as well as whatever witches Harper was in trouble with. Shit, this was a mess. The worst timing to find his mate.

Harper could be ripped away from him before they had a chance to bond. Ash’s muscles seized and his fire flared hot. He absently rubbed at the center of his chest.

He had to concentrate. Keep Harper safe. Win him over. Find Lucifer. Deal with him. Break the mate-news to Dante and Onyx. Simple. Except he was almost dreading that last one more than dealing with Luc.

Harper eyed Ash wearily, clutching the bedspread.

“I’m not going to interrogate you,” Ash said. Harper visibly relaxed. “Let me give you my number. You can call me if you need help. Anytime. No questions asked.”

Harper blinked at him, his glasses giving him an owlish appearance. “Thank you,” he whispered.

“I’m happy to help.” Ash let his growing affection for the young man break through his usually hard facial expression.

He pulled out his phone and they exchanged details.

Ash wanted to offer more. He planned to watch over Harper as much as possible, and as soon as he left, he would protect the whole building with his strongest shield.

Not that he could tell Harper this.

Harper wouldn’t want Ash spending all his time hovering around—that behavior only made sense in the context of mates—and vampires didn’t have the ability to cast protective spells. Almost all of a vampire’s magic was caught up in maintaining their immortality, with the exception of the hypnosis-like illusions they could cast on anyone they made eye contact with.

Ash had to assume Harper was up to speed on the realities of vampires and not give himself away until he was ready to tell Harper the whole truth. Having a fated mate was a lot for a human to get their head around, even one aware of the magic world .

Harper might not know demons were real, given so few were in the Human Realm. Just because a human was aware of magic didn’t mean they were familiar with magical history and demons having given birth to the original witches. Knowledge of the existence of mates was even rarer.

Ash needed time for all the pieces to fall into place. There was a lot to unpack and rushing wouldn’t serve him.

He wanted to ask Harper out on a date and make it clear he was serious about getting to know him, but now wasn’t the time. Harper had been through a lot and still seemed shaken.

“Would you like me to stick around?” Ash couldn’t help asking, even though he suspected Harper needed space. He didn’t want to go. It was much nicer watching over Harper from in here, where they could talk, than outside.

Harper averted his eyes. “No, I’m okay, and it’s probably best if you aren’t here when Ollie gets home.”

“Who’s Ollie?”

“My roommate. He was at the club with me that night…” Harper’s cheeks bloomed with color. “Anyway. He doesn’t know about magic at all.”

“Right.” That was good to know. “I’ll leave you to it, but if you need anything, please call.”

Harper’s pink cheeks flushed a darker red. “Thanks.”

Ash let himself out, locking Harper’s front door behind him. There was no one in the hall, so he took a moment to reconstruct the protections he’d broken to get inside, only repairing what was there before rather than enhancing the spells, just in case any of Harper’s enemies inspected the dwelling.

That done, Ash headed up to the roof. The place was starting to look a little too familiar.

He rendered himself invisible and got to work protecting the building with everything his demon magic had to offer, then he masked all his spells in a web of illusion. He couldn’t have his extra protection giving his presence away, and the spells he cast were much stronger than anything a witch could produce.

This way, any witch walking by would think the building was normal and completely exposed, similar to what Dante had done to his house in Old Town and his new one on the hill.

Dante.

Ash wasn’t looking forward to talking to him. What would giving Dante more hope do? Just because Ash found his mate didn’t mean Dante would. Ash hated that he’d found what Dante had never stopped believing in. Ash didn’t deserve it compared to his brother.

Fate was cruel that way.

Though he didn’t want to leave Harper, Ash stripped his shirt off, leaped from the roof, and spread his wings. He soared high over the city, heading to Dante’s house.

Harper would be fine on his own for a few hours. Ash doubted he’d be going out again today. He didn’t seem to leave his apartment much as a rule.

Ash growled and beat his wings faster. He hated that Harper was in serious trouble and uncomfortable leaving home, but Ash couldn’t fix it if he didn’t know what was happening.

At least Harper would be safe in the apartment. Ash would get back to him as soon as possible, but he needed to check in with Dante and Onyx. The lack of any sign of Lucifer was more worrying by the day.

“Anything?” Dante asked as Ash flew in through the wide open doorway, landing in the living room. He obviously assumed Ash had been out trying to get a read on Lucifer’s location.

Ash didn’t correct him. He shook out his wings. “No, nothing.”

“Are you sure Luc left the Realm of the Damned?” Onyx called from where he lay on one of the large sofas .

“Yes.” Ash bristled. “I know what the confinement magic feels like. No demon has breached it since we left.”

“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.

Ash’s chest tightened and he cleared his throat, trying to dislodge the discomfort. He shouldn’t have given Dante such a hard time for hoping all these years. “No, I’m not. Who knows how fate works. We can’t ignore our gut feelings.”

“No, we can’t.” Dante frowned. “And I think the dead birds are a bad sign.”