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Her gaze moved from the empty parking lot to the SUV where Abbie had rushed to.
Demi knew Abbie to be a calm and sweet female. She’d never seen her look scared before.
She left the males to discuss the situation and walked to the SUV, knocking on the passenger side window.
Abbie opened the door.
“Are you okay?” Demi asked.
“I want to tell you that I am, but the truth is that I’m not.”
“What happened?”
Abbie looked at her for a long, quiet moment. “I saw Benecio with my power.”
“You did? So, there’s a match for him in your book? That’s great! Why didn’t you tell him?”
“Because there’s something wrong with what I saw. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen.” Abbie turned in the seat so her legs hung out of the SUV and she faced Demi. The book sat in her lap.
“Wrong how? I always assumed your power was pretty fail-safe.”
She shook her head. “It’s not that I believe what I saw was wrong, it’s that I feel like there’s something wrong with the circumstances. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I believe that who I saw in the book when I used my power to match for Benecio will lead to death. I just don’t know whose death.”
Demi rocked back on her heels. “So, you can divine the future?”
“Not really. It’s just a feeling, but I’m positive the feeling is not wrong. I don’t know what to do about it. I’ve never been faced with the situation before, and there isn’t anyone I can talk to about it. There’s no match-maker helpline or online group.”
“Is the match a female from our pride?”
Abbie didn’t say anything for long enough that Demi started to get nervous. And then a thought occurred to her, and it wasn’t a good one. She didn’t even want to say it out loud, but before she could stop herself, she blurted it out. “It’s not me, is it?”
She looked like she’d been smacked in the face. “What? No, of course not!”
Demi let out a relieved breath. “I didn’t really think it was me, but I felt compelled to ask anyway.”
“It’s okay. I’d probably be asking the same thing myself.” She leaned against the seat and let out a deep sigh. “Yes, the person I saw with Benecio is someone from our pride. But like I said, I don’t think I can go through with it. It seems wrong to send a female to a male who is so clearly dangerous and off his nut.”
Demi wanted to agree. She didn’t think it was right for anyone to be stuck with Benecio. But she also didn’t want to mate him herself or watch her mates fight him on her behalf. It would be easier if he found his own mate and turned his sights off her. “Who is it?”
Abbie’s eyes were closed and she opened them. “China.”
* * *
An hour later, Demi, her mates, and her father were seated at the diner waiting for lunch. She’d been blown away by Abbie’s reveal about China and hadn’t known what to say. Abbie had explained things to everyone once they’d joined them at the SUV. Duke had agreed to abide by Abbie’s insistence that China not be brought into the situation when she couldn’t know what the future held. Everyone was unnerved by the revelation that China could somehow be involved with someone like Benecio and Abbie’s belief that someone—maybe even China—might die if the two were brought together.
“I know she’s your friend, sweets,” Rhaider said, “but I still think someone should at least tell China about it and let her make her own decision about whether to meet with him or not.”
Demi shook her head. “Absolutely not. She’s my best friend. What if she’s the one who dies? I would never forgive myself.”
“We don’t want her to be hurt either,” Rafe said. “But if she and Benecio are meant to be together, if she’s the right female for him, then it seems cruel to keep them apart.”
“Abbie never said that they were heart-matches. This is mate-matching, which is a kind of magic and has nothing to do with the heart,” Demi said.
“Your mom and I were mate-matched,” her father said. “But I believe we’re also heart-matches as well. I think mate-matching can turn into heart-matching.”
Demi threw up her hands. “So, you’re on their side? You want me to tell China to potentially put herself in danger to save me from either sacrificing myself or potentially sacrificing my mates? That’s the height of selfishness.”
“I’m in danger?”
