Page 4 of Eternal Mate

“I guess that explains why you were so paranoid,” Sariel commented at Elias, and the man winced.

“If anyone had found out, it would be a death sentence for him. Luckily, the shapeshifting makes it easy to pretend he’s just a normal blessed-blood.”

I had a million questions about how they’d managed it all these years—I’d gotten caught at my first real job, after all—but before I could zero in on the logistics, Ashe propped his head up on his fist.

“We don’t really know the details,” he hummed, sounding completely unbothered. “My mother disappeared before she could tell me herself, but Elias has spent years hiding my nature. I have to assume that since she wanted me so badly, whoever my dad was didn’t take advantage of her.”

Elias made a face like he wasn’t so sure, but Ashe didn’t falter, smiling cheerfully. It definitely narrowed down potential fathers, seeing as Archdemons were largely the only kind of demons to have any kind of moral compass. Most demons were mindless—or bordering on it, from everything I’d ever heard—so if his mother hadn’t been walking around traumatized, it had to have been someone capable of caring about her to some degree, right?

“Kiyomasa and Barimuz both thought demons couldn’t have soulmates,” Sariel pointed out. “I wonder how you ended up Auren’s.”

“I wish I knew,” Ashe sighed, shaking his head, “but pretending we’re not bonded is exhausting. We’re definitely something.”

His eyes went hazy again. I wondered if that's how Sariel and I looked when we communicated via our bond.

“Why did you fight it in the first place?” I had to ask, and the hybrid chuckled.

“I don’t… feel things like most people. Neither does Auren, so when we connected, things were strange. We aren’t attracted to each other, necessarily, but I know he’s mine.”

There's a dark kind of emphasis on the word. I didn’t think I was the only one who noticed the possessive note.

“So basically, your bond is different from the norm, and you didn’t know what to think of it,” Jack summarized, rolling his eyes and sipping his glass of wine. “This is pretty typical for him. He’s our little mischief maker.”

It was weird hearing something so affectionate come out of the witch's mouth. I couldn’t help but grin when Ashe huffed.

“More or less. I didn’t want to lean into it without more information. Unfortunately, bonds are notably difficult to gather intel on.”

He was definitely pouting as he narrowed his eyes at the plate in front of him with a furrowed brow.

“Atlan had a book that talked more about bonds,” Sariel said, and Ashe smiled mysteriously.

“I know.”

The conversation came to an abrupt halt with that. I decided I’d done enough digging for the night as we finished up our meal. We made a quick escape after dessert, though Jack seemed reluctant for us to leave; he’d been very intent on making friends after we all landed here, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the baby-faced witch beaming at me like he adored me.

Ashe gave us a finger wave as we stepped into the hallway, winking just before the door shut.

He’s so weird, Sariel sighed. His amusement was pronounced, though—he still had a reluctant affection for the other hybrid. I chalked it up to them bonding over his art while we were at the old compound.

Of course he is. He’s half-demon, half-blessed wolf. Could you imagine how that works?

I shuddered trying to imagine it. All those demonic impulses combined with the carelessness of a blessed blood? I didn’t even want to think about all the damage he could do if he really struggled with navigating emotion.

It works by making a very odd man my brother's mate.

I couldn’t help but giggle at the thought. Ashe making Auren chase him around like that had been a little funny. Mostly terrible, since I’d spent the better part of these last few weeks worried for my brother-in-law's sanity, but the relief of knowing it had all been a big joke made it easier to swallow.

Do you think Barimuz knows? I asked. Should we tell him? It might do us some good to have the demon hopeful that he could find his other half after all.

Sariel’s mood dipped a bit, but not nearly as much as it usually did whenever the Archdemon was brought up. I think that’s Ashe and Auren’s business, and I don’t know if we really want him digging into it. What if he knows who Ashe’s dad is?

I wrinkled my nose at the thought. Or what if he is Ashe’s dad?

That earned me a laugh from Sariel, finally. He squeezed my hand as we slipped into our apartment before letting go and heading for the bedroom.

“Shower with me?” he asked.

I almost told him no, but then paused. We’d been on the run for months now, and I’d been resistant to letting him get closer, despite my best efforts. Everything had just been so chaotic; not exactly the best environment to help our mate bond bloom.

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