Page 9

9

ASH

Ash slammed Harper’s front door and ran up the stairs, casting an illusion over himself as he went. He banged the service door to the roof open and stumbled outside. The night air did nothing to quell the fire within him.

His wings burst forth, tearing his already disheveled shirt. His fangs dropped and his horns shot from his hair, his tail straining against the restriction of his jeans. He tore the pants and the remainder of his shirt off, leaving himself bare.

Tail thrashing, Ash sucked in uneven breaths, his mouth watering at Harper’s lingering scent. Fuck, he was covered in cum. Ash grabbed his destroyed clothes and wiped himself clean, but it didn’t help.

Harper’s sweet scent set his blood boiling.

Claim. Claim. Claim .

Ash burned for Harper.

His demon form had never forced itself to the surface like it was something foreign taking him over. What was happening?

Ash’s mind filled with vivid images. He’d mount Harper from behind and fuck him until he was dripping with cum. Sink his teeth into Harper’s perfect, sweet neck and make Harper his.

He’d nearly done it just now, bitten him and tasted his blood. Harper had come, spilling his seed on Ash’s skin, and Ash had lost all reason. He’d almost done something he couldn’t take back.

Fuck, what was wrong with him? This wasn’t right.

A small voice inside insisted: It is right. Nothing is wrong . Ash had to claim Harper. Mate him. Not just taste his blood but give him his in return. Bind the two of them together and keep Harper. Forever.

Ash’s shuddering breaths choked out into nothing. He hadn’t thought about the act of mating—in detail—in over a thousand years.

Mating wasn’t the same as sex, though it did involve sex. Ash might have had the desire to fuck over the centuries, but mating hadn’t appealed at all. Until now. The need to perform the ritual—fuck, feed, claim—sent Ash to his knees. He gouged the roof tiles with his fingers, trying desperately to hold on to something. Anything.

Maybe he should lay Harper out on his back. Spread his legs and fill him while they kissed. That way, Ash could watch Harper writhe and lose himself in pleasure as Ash’s cock pumped into him. Yes, that’s what Ash wanted: Harper’s dark-brown eyes gazing up at him as pleasure flushed his face. Then Ash would bite, mate, and watch his cum drip from Harper’s hole.

Mine .

But Harper wasn’t his mate. Ash shook himself, withdrawing his fingers from the roof and forcing himself to stand.

It was impossible. None of the Fallen would ever find their mates. It was their punishment and the council wasn’t forgiving. Their mates would never be found in the Human Realm. Ash had known that for well over a thousand years. There had never been solid proof that any Eternal could find their fated mate on Earth.

How could Ash forget the facts?

Was it a side effect of seeing Dante for the first time in too long, and confronting Dante’s unwavering conviction he’d find his mate? That, plus depriving himself of blood and being a little too horny for the gorgeous man he’d picked up?

Yes, that was all.

Harper’s unique scent must have unlocked something in Ash’s brain. No, within his baser demon sense. Along with everything else, it was too much. He’d cracked.

The urge to claim Harper faded. Ash’s blood cooled, and the night air finally felt refreshing.

Harper wasn’t his mate. Of course he wasn’t. Ash had never heard of anyone being overcome by the mate connection like this. Eternals didn’t go into a frenzy and claim them like crazed beasts the second they found their other half.

Ash needed to get out of here. Fly far away. He crouched, readying to launch off the roof, but he couldn’t get his body to cooperate. His wings remained folded against his back and his legs infuriatingly stiff.

He didn’t want to leave Harper. Which was stupid. Or maybe not. The way he’d run out had to have confused Harper. Ash’s chest tightened. Would Harper be hurt? Fuck. Ash had been worse than rude, but he couldn’t go back now, naked, clothes shredded, with his wings out, and apologize.

Ash tried to force his demon features away. They didn’t budge. What the Hell? They’d never disobeyed him. Putting his wings away was as easy as taking a step.

He tried again. And again.

It took longer than he’d like to admit. By the time he had command over his wings, it had been far too long to seek Harper out.

Ash remained on the roof, guilt rooting him to the spot. Harper had been open and vulnerable with him, had trusted him, and in return, Ash had walked out on him in the most disrespectful way. For that alone, Ash didn’t deserve anything more from Harper.

It was a good thing Harper wasn’t his mate. He wouldn’t be pleased to see Ash if their paths ever crossed again. Not that they would. Once Ash managed to get off the roof, he’d never go near Harper again.

Ash landed on Dante’s deck overlooking the city. He managed to get inside and find some clothes before Dante or Onyx spotted him.

The sun rose as Ash moved through the house. He’d sat on Harper’s roof feeling like a foolish asshole all night.

Ash ignored the ache in his chest as he entered Dante's kitchen. It was just guilt. He’d fucked up, but there was nothing he could do about it. His feelings had nothing to do with wanting to fly back to the Banks.

Ash opened Dante’s fridge and pulled out a bag of blood. The whole feverish episode seemed ridiculous now. He couldn’t believe he’d been thinking about mates.

He heated up a mug of blood and downed it, then prepared another. He had to take better care of himself. Be more aware of his mental state and what his demon sense was telling him. If he had, perhaps he could have avoided the mess with Harper.

“Did you work up an appetite last night?” Dante’s mirthful voice floated across the kitchen .

Ash set his mug down and turned to face him. “Something like that.”

No way in all the realms was he telling Dante what happened. It would only give Dante false hope, and the last thing Ash needed was someone trying to convince him last night’s delusions meant something.

“Good. I hope it helped.” Dante pulled a box of sugary cereal from a cupboard and poured an obscene amount into a bowl.

Ash wrinkled his nose. “How did it go at the club with Onyx?”

Dante ruffled his wings. His whole house had been built to accommodate demons in their full form, with plenty of space, high ceilings, wide doorways, and large glass-paneled windows that rolled back so they could fly in and out. “About as you’d expect. He went home with that human couple.”

“Do you think he’ll come back, or will we have to track him down?”

Dante pulled a carton of coconut milk from the fridge. “He’ll be here.”

Ash doubted it but didn’t say anything as he cleaned his mug.

Dante settled on a barstool at the end of the counter and dug into his breakfast. “Help yourself.” He raised his bowl.

Ash shook his head. “I don’t know how you can eat that.”

Dante was like a human child left to their own devices with the amount of sugar he consumed. It was a good thing demons got their nutrition from blood.

Ash scrambled some eggs. They didn’t need to eat food to survive. Of the magical beings, only witches did, but most demons enjoyed human food. They even ate in the Eternal Realm .

What did Harper like for breakfast? Ash plated his eggs. What did it matter? He’d never find out.

As they finished eating, a crash came from somewhere at the front of the house. “I’m here,” Onyx called.

“Joy,” Ash grumbled, even though he was surprised Onyx had followed through on their deal instead of running off and avoiding them.

Dante shot him a glare. “Don’t antagonize him.”

Onyx burst into the kitchen, still in his club attire. “Full disclosure, I’m drunk.” He grabbed the box of cereal Dante had left on the counter and shoved his hand inside.

“Drunk is fine,” Dante assured him.

Onyx grinned evilly as he chewed, his blue hair disheveled. He smelled like sex.

Ash eyed Onyx’s rumpled shirt. “Where are your wings?”

Onyx gave Ash a pissy look, his pretty face pinching. “Where do you think?”

“Fine. Let me rephrase: why are you hiding your wings when you don’t need to?”

Onyx set the cereal down. “Because I don’t feel the need to hang around shirtless at every opportunity like you two.”

“Okay,” Dante cut in, his tone placating. “Why don’t we focus on the reason we’re all here.”

Something nagged at Ash about Onyx’s reluctance to let his true form out, but he let Dante change the subject, pointedly ruffling his feathers and earning a bone-chilling glare from Onyx.

“I’ve been diving into the flock’s magic,” Dante continued, ignoring them, “and can’t find any signs of Lucifer.”

Ash turned to face him, the similarity between Dante’s wings and the shearwaters’ plumage hitting him anew. “Perhaps he’s not here yet. And while that’s good to know, the shearwaters are what’s drawing him to us. ”

Dante’s dark cheeks flushed, his black eyes narrowing. “I’m not leaving, and I’m not apologizing for interacting with the creatures of the city I live in. All you see is a beacon to call Lucifer to us, but can’t you acknowledge my birds are an advantage? If we go hide somewhere else, we won’t have thousands of eyes watching out for us.”

“Yeah, Ash.” Onyx crossed his arms, smirking. “Stop being such a pessimistic prick.”

“That’s not helping,” Dante snapped.

“You think I’m here to help?” Onyx scoffed, tossing blue bangs out of his face. “I’m here to watch you two bicker.”

Ash didn’t believe him. Onyx might be able to get away with a lot, but he wouldn’t risk being dragged back to the Realm of the Damned. He was here to help—or to keep himself free, at the very least.

Dante must have thought something similar because he ignored Onyx’s comment. “If anyone goes poking around the spells cast on my old place, the birds will notice. And it’s not like I’ll show up like I did with you, Ash. I can see who’s there before I leave my house. Because of the birds.”

Ash ground his teeth. “Of course you wouldn’t show up there without knowing who was poking around.” Dante wasn’t stupid. Ash never meant to imply that.

Dante turned to face the massive windows overlooking the deck and city below. “Once we strengthen the protections on this house, we can stay here safely while we use my flock to monitor the city.”

Onyx glared at Dante’s back. “And what? Be cooped up until my brother comes knocking? No, thank you.”

“You don’t have to stay with us, Onyx.” Dante didn’t bother turning around. “If you want to face your brother on your own, that’s fine. But if you betray us, we won’t hold back.”

Onyx’s mouth dropped open. “Always so quick to cast me out. Are you serious? Betray you? My brother can go fuck himself. I’m not doing a thing for him. If he wants you two, then it’s my mission in life to ensure he doesn’t get you.”

The fierceness of his words was almost heartwarming. “So you’ll stay with us?” Ash asked.

Onyx cut a sidelong glance at him, chewing his lip. “Fine, whatever. You two are so clingy. But I’m going out whenever I want.”

“It’s not like we’ll stop you as long as you’re being smart.” Ash didn’t plan to stay cooped up in the house either, no matter how lovely it was.

Onyx’s eyes blazed for a split second. “I’m always smart.” He turned up his nose. “Once we’re sure Luc’s in the city, we could let him find me as a trap. You still want to imprison him, right?”

“Yes, imprisoning Lucifer will be the only way to get him off our backs,” Dante said without hesitation. “A trap could work. Once the shearwaters see what he’s up to and who he might have brought with him, we can set it up. However, there is one complication.”

Ash knew it. Nothing was simple. “What?”

Dante turned to face them. “Lucifer isn’t the only one looking for us.”

Onyx laughed, blue eyes flashing. “Um, what?”

“I came across something while sifting through the shearwaters’ collective memory.” Dante could control the birds and see through their eyes. The enchantment he’d cast also created a collective memory for the flock, which he could tap into. “I don’t normally watch the birds too closely. They usually know when something is important enough to pass on to me. This wasn’t like that.”

“What did you see?” Ash asked.

“Witches are hunting us.” Dante frowned, and Onyx laughed again. Dante ignored him. “The shearwaters didn’t recognize what the witches were doing so their hunt fell under the radar, but it seems they’re searching for us in the city’s stone memory. They’ve been lurking around old parts of the city, chipping off bits of the buildings and cobbles.”

“But they’re witches ,” Onyx sneered. “Who cares? What could a witch do to any of us?”

“Hand us over to Lucifer,” Ash suggested and Dante nodded his agreement.

Ash had never trusted the sect of witches who worshipped Lucifer. They knew enough of the true history to know Lucifer was their source of magic, but they didn’t know everything, and their covens were often the ones causing trouble in the magic world.

“But it’s not like the witches have found us,” Onyx argued. “So how can they hand us over? Stone memory won’t lead them to this house.” He gestured around him.

“You’re right. It probably won’t,” Dante agreed, prompting Onyx to smile for a split second. “But I wouldn’t trust any witch in the city, just in case.”

“Were we ever trusting witches?” Ash didn’t mix with other magical beings if he could help it.

Even the witches who didn’t worship Lucifer weren’t worth dealing with. Many hated demons for being the reason they were banned from their rightful afterlife, even if they had demons to thank for the gift of magic. And vampires were even worse, a bunch of self-important, power-hungry immortals who originated from a group of witches that slayed a demon and drank his blood to gain eternal life.

“We may have trusted witches,” Dante said, surprisingly magnanimously, considering no witches were present. “But we won’t be now. Shearwater memory can be unreliable in discerning human characteristics. I can’t be sure exactly which witches are looking for us, only that some are.”

Onyx threw up his hands. “If the birds can’t tell people apart, how will they find Lucifer?”

Dante clenched his jaw. “I’ve imprinted an image of Luc into the flock’s collective mind. They know what he looks like and what his magic feels like. If they see our hunters again, they’ll be able to show me faces. Looking back through their memory when they didn’t know to be keeping their eyes out is what makes things fuzzy.”

“Right.” Onyx turned away and opened the fridge, clearly done with the conversation.

“It is right.” Dante stood straighter. “Just be wary of any witches you meet, even if they can’t see through our human illusions and know who we are at a glance. We don’t need the trouble of dealing with hunters. Witches have bested demons before, and we don’t know if these ones want to hand us over or kill us. Now, let’s reinforce the house and discuss what kind of prison we might create for Luc.”

Ash had to admit that designing a prison for their dear old friend didn’t sound like a bad way to spend the day.