Page 17 of Demon's Beauty

Mate.

My demon mate.

A shudder rolls down my spine.

No one said it explicitly, but I know enough to know that’s what just happened.

A demon just recognized me as his mate.

The thought feels strangely disconnected from the rest of my brain. Floating through my gray matter like it belongs to someone else, I watch idly as it passes, then make myself stop thinking about it completely.

I absolutely do not have the capacity to think about it.

Not with everything else that happened today.

I have no idea if Seren believed the story I told her when I arrived at her rooms about being here to help Vayla, but worrying about that seems a bit beside the point.

The demon’s face flashes into my mind.

Handsome, in a blond, surfer-boy kind of way.

Do demons surf?

Probably also beside the point.

But he was… hopeful. So damn hopeful. Looking at me like I was some kind of miracle.

It makes my gut twist.

Damn it, I’m not supposed to be thinking about this.

“So, are you going to tell me what really happened?”

Snapping out of those thoughts, I meet Vayla’s eye. “What do you mean?”

She just stares at me, unimpressed.

“There was… an incident. In Seren’s rooms.”

“An incident?”

“Nothing bad,” I say quickly. “I mean… notverybad… I just… there was this demon, and we… he saw me, and I think he realized I’m his…”

I swallow hard, unable to continue.

Vayla’s mouth drops open in surprise. “No way.”

“Yes way, apparently,” I mutter.

“A demon recognized you as his—”

“Don’t say it—”

“—mate?”

I give her a quick, curt nod.

“Who is it?”