“The king is here because he’s on the hunt for his true mate.”
Something inside me stirred. My throat tightened. The story was old, but it was one I knew well. When Lucifer was cast from Heaven, his father made a deal with him. If he could find his true mate and make her fall in love with a monster like him, we would earn his wings back.
There were some who believed He was playing a trick on his son, for it was always said celestials did not have true mates. Others believed Eve to be Lucifer’s fated one, united in the disgrace of their terrible sin, and the only reason the fallen hadn’t gotten their wings was because Eve could never love him.
I had known for a long time that He did believe in true mates. Yet, we were all taught to ignore this. And I could never fathom why.
“After all this time, why is he trying to get his wings backnow?I heard a rumor that he never really cared for them, that they’re a reminder of his father.”
It was now that Abaddon twisted to look at me, his broad, rain-streaked face stretching with a mocking jeer. “It’s not so much about the wings. He longs for his mate. His beast has been trying to sniff her out for years. It’s led us here. He’s sure she’s in Seattle.”
The drum of rain peppering the plastic dumpster lid and the faint cantankerous melody of downtown traffic were the only sounds to fill the silence as the demon looked down at me the disdain. I had no words. My only answer was from my beast within, a faint growl, almost a purr that rumbled from my chest.
Melanie. Find her. She’s all that matters.
Abaddon’s expression hardened. “Go to your mate, Guardian.”
“Why are you helping me?”
“Because I suspect you’ll be one of us soon.”
And then he was gone.
