Layla turned over for the fifth time in the last five minutes. Tired as she was, she couldn’t quite manage to fall asleep. Finally deciding that she couldn’t lie still any longer, she got up and tiptoed downstairs to get a glass of water.

It was dark, with just a hint of light coming through the windows from the streetlights outside. Layla saw a silhouette of someone sitting on the couch by the window, and though she could only see the back of his head, she knew at once who it was. Forgetting her water, she went to sit down beside Hunter.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yes. I’m just keeping watch. Cord will relieve me in a couple of hours.”

Layla nodded, and they sat in companionable silence for a while. It was relaxing, knowing the others were asleep and that they were unlikely to be walked in on at any moment.

“How long do you think it’ll take to catch them?”

“It’s too soon to tell. The fact that they’ve managed to kill a number of witches means that it’ll be far from an easy job. Tomorrow, we’ll start investigating properly.”

“What about protecting us?”

“Don’t worry.” Layla couldn’t tell for sure in the dark, but she thought Hunter was grinning. “I’ll stay here to protect you. We won’t let any of you be alone for a second. There are enough of us that, if we arrange things properly, we can simultaneously keep guard and investigate with little trouble.”

Cautiously at first, Layla leaned into him, and Hunter lifted his arm and put it around her shoulders. She snuggled into his side then, sighing happily. She thought she could fall asleep right here. Something about being around Hunter just made her feel safe.

“Tell me more about mates.”

If Hunter was surprised, he hid it well. “Mating is very important to demons. For many other immortals, like humans, happiness comes without ever mating. It depends, from person to person. For demons, mating is one of the most important things. We never feel truly complete without it.

“That’s why we took the risk of coming here, because the rewards are worth it. When a demon meets his or her mate, they know it, the second they see them. We mate for life, and there is only one true mate for each of us.”

“That sounds romantic. How long do you think it’ll take to find her?”

“Not long,” Hunter said softly, his voice shaking very slightly. He seemed to hesitate, then turned so that he could disentangle himself from her and took both of Layla’s hands in his. “I’ve already found her.”

Layla gasped, clutching tightly to Hunter like he’d become a lifeline. If he meant what it sounded like he did, from the look in his eyes, it seemed too good to be true.

“Since the moment I saw you, I knew. You are the only one for me, Layla. My true mate. You will always be mine; forever.”

Overwhelmed, Layla couldn’t think what to say. One part of her wanted to wrap her arms around Hunter and kiss him senseless. Another part screamed, ‘too fast, too fast’. Despite the fact that she’d only just met Hunter, though, she felt connected to him in a way that was unlike anything she’d ever felt.

On the other hand, while she definitely wanted to explore what they had, being told that she was his forever—within days of meeting him—was kind of like being proposed to on the first date, and she couldn’t pretend that she wasn’t at least a little freaked out by it.

“What are you thinking?” Hunter sounded worried, as though he thought she was about to bolt. Maybe she was.

“It’s just a lot,” Layla admitted. “I like you. I want you, too. But we’ve only just met. How can we make that kind of commitment so soon?”

Hunter stroked her hair, the movement soothing her. “It’s different for witches than it is for demons. I don’t expect you to be sure at first. You don’t recognize me instantly as your mate like I do you, and it would be foolish of me to expect you to. I can wait. We both have forever, after all.”

The reference to her newly found immortality didn’t do much to settle Layla’s nerves, but Hunter’s hand stroking her hair soon had her leaning back into him.

“I heard something… Damaris said something about demons and their mates being enemies, which doesn’t really make sense to me. I mean, we clearly have a connection, and it’s not one of animosity. If we’re supposed to be enemies, then how can I be your true mate?”

“I’ve heard that, as well. There’s an old saying about it, but I don’t know how much truth there is in it. None of us has had much experience in observing mates since there are so few females now. I don’t know what it means, but I know how I feel about you, and I know you are mine forever.”

Layla shivered at the heat in his words. Some of her worries faded, being against him as she was now.

When she twisted to look up and into his eyes again, she expected to find him watching her and wasn’t disappointed. She couldn’t have said who leaned in first, but when their lips met, all other thoughts flew out of her mind. She moaned softly into the kiss, and his arms came around her, pulling her closer.

She ended up on Hunter’s lap again, straddling him, pushing herself closer, unable to get enough of the feel of his body against hers.

But she broke away first this time, gasping for air. Hunter didn’t stop kissing her. His lips made a hot trail down her neck until he pulled back from her, panting.

“Hunter?”

He was still holding her close, and she could feel his breath as he spoke softly in her ear.

“Once a mate accepts a demon, there is a claiming.”

His voice was rough and so, so sexy.

“Claiming?”

“During the mating. Here.” He brushed the side of her neck gently with his fingertips. “My fangs will elongate, and I’ll bite you, claiming you as mine.”

Layla shivered at the thought. It was shocking, of course, but she realized it shouldn’t have turned her on nearly as much as it did. She felt a thrill of fear and excitement at the idea of Hunter biting into her neck.

He seemed to be waiting to see if she’d run away screaming. When she didn’t, Hunter moved his lips back to hers. Layla didn’t know how long they were lost in the kiss. She only came back to herself when she heard a noise upstairs.

“I should go,” she breathed.

Hunter reluctantly loosened his grip on her. Layla felt herself half-wishing he hadn’t, but the thought of Sophie’s face if she caught them like this had her struggling her way off his lap, stumbling slightly until he caught her wrist, steadying her.

“I need to think about…everything.”

“We have all the time in the world,” Hunter reminded her.

Back upstairs, Layla could still feel his eyes on her even after she closed her door and settled back into bed.

“What are you getting yourself into, Layla?” she murmured.

She felt a deep connection with her new coven, despite having just met them a short while ago. And she also felt a connection with Hunter. Yes, this coven had adopted her into their folds without hesitation and called her a sister. She didn’t want to disappoint Sophie and the others, and they’d made their view of demons very clear. They’d be unhappy, to say the least, if they found out about her and Hunter.

The smart thing to do would be to do nothing. Just treat Hunter like any of the other demons, just one of their bodyguards. There would be no strife in her coven, and she wouldn’t have to deal with this ‘true mate’ thing. Layla couldn’t pretend she didn’t find the idea of that intimidating, no matter what Hunter said about waiting.

Did she really want to start a relationship under those circumstances? The pressure was overwhelming. That kind of speech—the ‘you’re the only one for me’ speech—wasn’t supposed to be happening yet. She was supposed to be in love and truly comfortable before she heard that, and it freaked her out. But as much as it would make sense to end things with Hunter before they even really began, whenever Layla thought of actually doing it, of telling him she only wanted to be friends, she couldn’t make the words come. Not even in her head.

She wanted to see where this went with Hunter. She needed to.

There were a few more shuffling movements from the room next to hers, but no one came out into the hall yet. Layla wondered if she could get a lock installed on her door. This was only her second night here, and already, she longed for some privacy. Somewhere where she could kiss Hunter without constantly worrying about being walked in on. Even now, she hated hiding up here when she could have been down there kissing him, but everything seemed so confused. Hunter was so sure she was the only one for him, but she couldn’t help worrying that it might come down to a choice between him and her coven. Which one would she choose? How could she lose either of them?

And exactly how mad would Sophie be when she found out? She would find out eventually, Layla was sure, no matter how careful they were. The choice felt impossible, even after knowing Hunter and the coven so briefly, but she wondered if there was anyone at all she could talk to about this.

Damaris seemed more levelheaded about demons than the others, but she had a sternness to her that Layla didn’t think would translate too well into understanding about her and Hunter. Maybe Rose or Lizeth, then? She didn’t know them well enough yet to know if she could confide in them without fear of them reporting to Sophie, though. She supposed she could talk to the other demons, but they didn’t know her coven any better than she did. Maybe they could tell her if there had been any previous relationships between witches and demons, at least. Judging by her coven’s attitude toward them, Layla doubted it, but it was worth a shot.

She pulled the covers up and closed her eyes. There was no telling what tomorrow would bring. She should try to get some sleep. It was already near dawn, but there were still a few hours of sleep she could grab, if she could get her mind to keep quiet for long enough. But that was when she heard someone coming out of their room, so she lay listening to the quiet murmur of voices, both of them male. She couldn’t make out the words through her closed door, but the tones sounded calm.

Hunter must be going to bed, letting Cord take over watching for any attack. Layla worried that the two of them wouldn’t get enough sleep if they split their nights like this, but she supposed they knew what they were doing; she just didn’t want Hunter to suffer for protecting them. Or Cord, she reminded herself; she ought to be thinking about the others also.

The train of thought opened up a whole new realm of terrifying possibilities, though, with her mind going as it was. Hunter getting hurt protecting her. Hunter in pain. Hunter kidnapped or killed.

Layla forcibly shoved such thoughts out of her head. Hunter and the other demons were very good at what they did. They could handle this. She had to believe that.

Closing her eyes, she tried to take her mind elsewhere, but it wouldn’t leave Hunter. Thinking about what would come next, if they kept going, she wondered how he’d feel about her being a virgin. When should she tell him? She’d never been in a relationship before, and she had no idea how it was supposed to be done. It’s not like she could ask her coven for advice, either—not when it involved Hunter.

But at least dating advice was a more normal concern, and that information was certainly out there. There wasn’t a computer in this room, but surely Sophie would have one she could borrow—though that ran the risk of Layla having her browser history stumbled upon, and then there would inevitably be questions about who she was seeing. Maybe a dating advice book would be best, something she could hide in her room.

Perhaps Hunter could take her to a bookstore tomorrow. The thought of the two of them alone in a car had her blushing already. She imagined Hunter reaching over and kissing her, pulling her onto his lap. The windows would no doubt steam up, and the close quarters would leave their bodies touching everywhere.

Suddenly hot, Layla threw off the covers and rolled over. Unwilling to get up and turn the lights on, she started making up a new story in her head.

Her heroine was in love with a man who was cursed to turn into a hawk every sunrise, leaving them with only the nights to enjoy together. The two of them tried to break the curse, but that only ended in the woman being cursed, as well, after angering the gods, so that she turned into a sparrow at night.

Layla laid out their struggles in her head, watching as they went to challenge the gods on their decision. A test would be held, and if they proved themselves worthy, their curses would be removed. The tests tried to trick them into thinking one had betrayed the other, but they never lost faith, and finally succeeded.

The gods were angry, as no one was supposed to pass the tests, but they were forced to keep their word. However, in retaliation, they sent the hounds of hell to hunt the couple, who sought refuge in a magical valley that had existed since the beginning of time.

Layla smiled to herself. At least her life hadn’t reached that level of complicated—not yet. Watching her couple dodge vengeful gods was surprisingly relaxing, and she soon found herself sleepy, her mind finally ready to shut off.

It was a good story. She should write it down tomorrow. Layla reached for her pen and paper, to at least make a start, but they were too far away, and the stresses of the day were finally catching up to her. She gave up, letting her arm hang over the bed. She just managed to pull up the covers before sleep finally took over.

Her dreams were of phoenixes and curses and dark eyes that seemed to follow her wherever she went. Layla shivered in her sleep, but a small smile tugged at her lips. She rolled over then, and the hero in her story morphed until she was staring at Hunter, her fingertips just inches from his.