90.

Jay nodded. It was all he could do with the knot lodged in his throat.

"What else aren't you shy about?" Kevin asked, walking up to the alpha. He slid a hand up James' chest, and Jay held his breath.

Kevin was going to get his ass kicked.

To Jay's surprise, the alpha leaned down and sniffed Kevin's neck before letting a low growl pour from his throat. "Why don't you come inside and I can show you where you're going to sleep?" The large alpha wrapped an arm around Kevin and led him into the house.

"Huh," Thomas said. "My brother never showed much interest in men before."

Jay shrugged. "Maybe he's bisexual. I didn't know Kevin liked guys either." Of course, he didn't really know his roommates very well. His life had been up and down since he came to the school. He just knew they seemed like nice guys who didn't deserve to be mixed up in his problems. The death of the gnomes still weighed heavily on his heart. They'd been nice people who had wanted to serve him, not be smashed by a power-hungry wizard.

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." Thomas' big hands pulled Jay into his embrace, rubbing his back up and down in a soothing pattern.

"Are you two coming?" Dean asked, looking back 91 *

with concerned eyes. The triplets hadn't spoken much since leaving campus, but there was a new sadness in their eyes that Jay felt responsible for putting there.

After making sure everyone had a place to spend the night, where Kevin was surprisingly absent, Jay and Thomas went upstairs.

They undressed in silence. Jay had reached down to pull back the covers when Thomas gently turned him to face the werekin.

"Is there any chance that you might be injured tomorrow?"

"Of course." How could he explain to a magical creature the unpredictability of magic? "Thomas, come sit by me."

He patted the space next to him on the bed as he sat down. For once, he was more interested in talking to his naked mate than jumping his bones.

"There are a lot of things that could go wrong tomorrow. Dragonspawn is an extremely strong wizard. I don't know how old he is, but I do know he's one of the best in his craft. I have the magic of three people coursing through my body, but my greatest power is my love for you. I wasn't going to ask you to do this right away, but since I'm going into battle tomorrow, I wanted to bond with you in the wizard way."

92.

Thomas licked his lips like they were parched, and his eyes were moist as he leaned closer to his lover.

"What's the wizard way?"

"The trinity of blood, magic, and sex."

Thomas' smile was slow and tender. "Baby, I'd give you my soul if I thought it would keep you safe."

Jay stroked his lover's face. "I like your soul just where it is. Inside the most wonderful man I know."

A single tear slid down Thomas face, but his smile didn't disappear.

"Tell me what I need to do," he whispered.

Taking a deep breath, Jay nodded towards the carpet in the middle of the room. "Kneel on the rug and I'll collect the supplies."

Thomas placed a soft kiss on Jay's cheek before going to sit on the floor.

Jay reached into his backpack and pulled out his pocketknife, a piece of gold cord, and his wand. In general, he didn't use a wand for his magic. He had no need for the traditional focal piece of magic that others of his kind used, but for this ceremony, he needed to use anything he could to his advantage.

Nothing could go wrong with this bonding. Whether or not the wizard bonding worked, he knew that he was 93 *

bound to his lover in the way of the werekin. One way or another, he would always be at Thomas' side. Instincts screamed at him that he needed to have as many ties binding them as possible. He didn't know why, but he'd never gone against his instincts, and he wasn't going to start now, when he had everything to lose.

He looked back at his lover who watched him with loving eyes. The werewolf's body was strong and muscular, and he was a fine man who would do anything to help his mate. Jaynell didn't even have to ask himself if Thomas was the one meant for him. There was a soul connection between them that Jaynell couldn't deny even if he wanted to. Leaving Thomas wasn't an option, so it was up to Jay to find the best way to keep the gorgeous werekin safe. This ceremony was the safest he could get. It would bind them together, so even if Jaynell was close to death, Thomas could pull him back from the brink. It was a safety net for his lover. The little he knew about werekin told Jay that his death would mean the death of his beloved Thomas, and nothing in heaven or earth was going to end that werekin's life before its appointed time. Jay had lost enough people in his life to know he had no wish to lose another one.

He returned to Thomas, kneeling on the floor before him. "This will hurt a little bit," he warned the other man.

Thomas gave him a sweet smile. "No amount of 94 *

pain would be enough to stop me from keeping you at my side forever."

Jay blinked back tears.

His wolf was so damn sweet.

Sucking in a deep breath, Jay straightened his spine.

They could do this. He unfolded the knife blade and clutched the handle in his fist.

"Hold out your arm."

Without hesitation, Thomas held out his arm.

Quick sure strikes left both of them with a gash in their right wrists.

Pressing the wounds together, Jay gave the binding rites.

As our blood mingles, so do our souls.

As our blood binds us, so does our magic.

As our blood flows together, so will our lives.

"Now repeat after me," Jay said to his lover.

Thomas nodded solemnly.

"I vow to always share my heart, my soul, and my thoughts with the man before me."

"I vow to always share my heart, my soul, and my thoughts with the man before me," Thomas repeated.

"To watch over him in safe or troubled times."

"To watch over him in safe or troubled times."

"To love him with magic or none."

95.

"To love him with magic or none."

"Until the goddess takes his soul from me."

"Until the goddess takes his soul from me."

Jay wrapped the length of gold cord around their connected wrists.

"Now we bind through magic," Jay said, widening his knees so he could brace his stance.

Lifting his wand awkwardly with his left hand, Jay held it over their bound wrists.

"As we are bound in blood, let us be bound in magic. May this man always know the harbor, the strength, and the protection of being bonded with my soul." Jay waved the wand in a clockwise circle. "With this spell, I bequeath to my love half of everything I am. Half of my heart, my soul, and my magic."

A scream tore out of Jay's throat as the magic obeyed his command. Clouds of sparkling power ripped from his chest, floated in the air for a brief shining moment, then slammed into Thomas. Thomas howled as his back bowed from the energy racing through his veins.

It was several minutes before either man could speak. Jay tasted blood in his mouth from where he bit his lip. Looking at his lover, he saw Thomas' eyes glowed with his newfound magic.

"What did you do to me?" Thomas whispered.

96.

"I gave you half of everything I am," Jay said. "If Dragonspawn gets close to killing me tomorrow, you can pull me back from the brink."

"When I said I'd give you my soul, you didn't tell me that you were going to give me yours."

"Only half," Jay said. He felt surprisingly light.

Seeking inside, he could feel all of his magic was still his to call. The magic now residing in Thomas' body was still accessible, but if Dragonspawn tried to yank all of the power out of Jay's body, he could only get half.

"Can I do magic now?" Thomas asked in a hushed voice.

Jay saw the panic in his mate's eyes.

"No, honey. You are only a vessel for magic. You don't have the ability to use it. However, it should be able to protect you from harm. You're my backup plan."

Thomas smiled. "I feel really strong. Are we mates now?"

"Not until we have sex," Jaynell told his mate.

The look Thomas gave him was hot and feral.

"Then what are we waiting for? I have energy to burn."

Jay was relieved the werewolf wasn't upset. He gave his mate a smile of his own. "We can't have that now, can we?"

97.

"No. I want to make sure we are bonded!" Thomas declared.

Jaynell saw a fire in Thomas' eyes that wasn't there before. Claiming the wolf had opened up something inside his lover.

"I thought we'd bonded in the wolf way before."

Thomas gave Jaynell a sheepish grin. "We had, but my wolf wanted a stronger bond from you. You could've walked away, and I would still be linked to you forever.

Now that I feel your commitment, my wolf is calm."

"I hope he's not too calm," Jay said with a laugh.