He wished he'd kept his mouth shut. After everything that had happened, he'd forgotten Jaynell lost both his mother and father in order to gain his power.

Kevin wouldn't mind sacrificing his father, but he loved his mother. The one bright spot in his childhood, she always gave him sweet smiles and fresh homemade cookies.

"Sorry, Jay, I didn't mean that."

17.

Jay gave him a small smile. "I know."

He let out a sigh of relief. Luckily, Jay didn't hold grudges. If the other wizard got mad at you, he told you or apparently turned you into ash. Kevin respected that, even as Jaynell scared the fuck out of him. It shocked him to realize the calm, sweet man beside him was completely capable of killing someone when threatened.

As an elf and a natural pacifist, Kevin didn't know if he could kill a man even if threatened. Hopefully he'd never have to find out.

They arrived at school and went their separate ways, Jay to whatever high level wizard class he had and Kevin to his morning Magical Theory class with Professor Lewis, a persnickety man who droned on in the same steady monotone for hours, making Kevin want to stab a pencil in his eye to keep awake.

Maybe he could get Jay to conjure him a professor-be-interesting pill.

Smiling, Kevin settled into his seat, swallowing a gasp when his tender ass met the hard wood surface. Lisa, one of his favorite fellow students, flashed him a megawatt smile. Always cheerful and perky, the blonde brightened an otherwise dull class. Her magical ability usually placed her in advanced classes, however, she needed one more elective to move forward in her studies and to Kevin's 18 *

delight, she chose this one. Despite her beauty, Kevin pursued her for friendship, not romance. She didn't give off the kind of vibe he found sexy.

"Hey, Kevin." She smirked when she saw him sitting gingerly. "Have a hot date last night?"

"You could say that. How about you?"

Lisa shrugged. "All the wizard guys I meet are intimidated by my abilities, and the ones who are more powerful are too concentrated on their studies, or gay."

Although she smiled, he could hear the loneliness underlying her words. His mind went to his triplet roommates. "Have you met my roommates?"

"Jay or the triplets?" Her smooth brow crinkled as she looked at him, frowning.

Kevin laughed. "No, Jay has a boyfriend. I was talking about one of the triplets."

"They are so hot. One of them has asked me out before, but I don't know which one. I was seeing someone at the time so it didn't work out." She gave a philosophical shrug.

"Then I take it you're interested?"

"Maybe." She scribbled her number on a piece of paper and handed it over. "Have one of them call me."

She didn't appear to care which one. He made a swift decision, knowing his friend wouldn't mind. "I think 19 *

Dean would be the best choice. I'm not totally convinced the others are completely straight."

"Well, make sure you fix me up with the straight one." She laughed.

"Will do."

The rest of the class flew by. Consumed by thoughts of James, he paid little attention to the lecture, hoping they wouldn't have a test on the content. With the small amount of focus he could scrape together, he might as well have stayed in James's bed.

After bidding Lisa goodbye, he headed off to his potions class, his weakest subject. He hated chemistry.

As soon as he settled at a brewing table, Edward Senn slid onto the stool next to him as if they were best buds. Before Kevin moved in with the triplets, Edward had bothered Kevin about dating him. The man wasn't his type.

Spoiled and smug, the other student barely had enough magical ability to get into school. Kevin suspected Edward's father paid good money, possibly funding a new stadium, to get his kid into the college.

"Hey, Kevin."

"Edward." Kevin didn't even pretend to be friendly.

Normally he'd try to hide his dislike of someone so he wouldn't hurt the other person's feelings, but extended exposure to Edward convinced him the other man had 20 *

none.

"I'm throwing a party at my house this weekend.

Wanna come?"

Kevin shook his head. "No, I've gotta study. Jay said he'd help me with my potions homework."

"Jay!" Edward gave a snort of disdain. "I don't know why everyone thinks he's such hot shit. He got put in with you talented lot, and he's nothing but a talentless powerhouse. My father thinks he should be banned from using magic. You know his father did an illegal spell to keep him alive. What kind of man gives up his life so his son's power can triple? My dad says the Senate is looking into Jay's motives for killing Dragonspawn. They'll strip him of his magic if it looks like he's gone bad. He needs to be held accountable."

Emotions warred in Kevin's chest, flashes of hot and cold panic. An investigation by the Senate couldn't yield any positive results. Jay could be in real trouble if the Senate became involved. They weren't known for taking it easy on people they considered rogue wizards.

"Dragonspawn was evil," Kevin objected.

"That's Jaynell's story, and the only one he has to back it up is that wolf of his. No one is going to believe a wolf; they hate wizards."

"Not all wolves. Thomas loves Jay."

21.

Edward shrugged. "Maybe, or maybe it's their way of getting wizards on their side before they start a war."

"Why would they start a war?" Kevin didn't know what to make of Edward's ravings. Did he really have some insight or did he ramble just to shake Kevin up? Before he could question Edward further, the professor interrupted their conversation.

"Gentlemen, did you want to give the presentation?"

Professor Konner asked.

"Sorry, Professor," they said in unison.

Kevin ignored Edward for the rest of class, but his uneasiness grew. He had to talk to Jay and the triplets to find out what they knew about the Senate. If Jay was in trouble, they needed to make a plan. Edward might be a snotty rich kid, but he often had the inside track on what was going on in the upper echelons of the magical world since his dad served as secretary to one of the Senators. Ten Senators controlled the Senate, setting the rules for all wizards worldwide. It was a powerful and prestigious position.

Unfortunately for Jaynell, Michael Dragonspawn had held one of those Senate seats. Chills went through Kevin's body as he realized his friend might have made some powerful enemies by killing the evil wizard. They were all in trouble if Dragonspawn wasn't the only corrupt 22 *

member of the Senate.

23.

Chapter Two.

Instead of rushing back to the pack house after class, Kevin forced himself to discover where the university staff moved his stuff. The headmaster wouldn't let any of them return to their dorm after the gnome's death. After retrieving his room assignment from the headmaster's office, he went to his new dorm room to drop off his books and ran into the triplets. Dan, Dean and Devin all looked glum. Glancing around at the clean, if slightly sterile, room he tried to identify the problem.

"What's wrong?"

"I miss the wolves," Dan said.

"They're fun," Dean piped in.

"They know how to party," Devin claimed.

"Are any of them your mates?"

The triplets shrugged in unison. It was kind of creepy how they moved as one person.

Kevin didn't know how he failed to tell them apart before. Devon's left eyebrow tilted slightly higher than his right, Dean's eyes had flecks of gold in them according to his temper, and Dan's hair had red highlights visible in the sun.

"We don't think so," Dan said. As the oldest by mere minutes, he generally spoke for the trio. "At least 24 *

none of them said anything. It's not like we'd know. Jay didn't even know until Thomas told him."

"I don't think you can stay at the pack house unless you have a mate." Although he knew James thought Kevin was his mate, he wasn't ready to share the news with his friends. "I do have a phone number for you, Dean." He handed over the paper he got from Lisa.

Dean smiled like he'd won the student of the year award, which came with a hundred gold pieces. "I've been trying to get her attention for months. Thanks, Kev."

Kevin shrugged. "She knew who you were." He didn't mention she couldn't tell Dean from his brothers; most people couldn't.

"I'll give her a call and ask her out." He scrambled to find his phone.

"You do that. I'm heading back to the pack house to get some help from Jay. He's bound to be able to explain potions better than Professor Konner."

Dan smiled. "Convince him to take a position on staff. I heard they want to offer him an assistant professorship in potions."

Kevin nodded, not the least bit surprised. "I'll talk to him. A lot of students could benefit from his help."

25.

The bus to the pack house took a lot longer than he'd anticipated. Of course daydreaming past his stop and having to backtrack added to the journey. He still couldn't get the alpha werewolf out of his mind. The handsome man filled his thoughts, and memories of James's hands touching his body made other parts harden and Kevin squirm in his seat, fruitlessly trying to hide his growing erection.

Luckily, the cold air outside the bus soon deflated his problem, and he was able to walk down the sidewalk without looking like a sideshow freak. Kevin had images of a barker shouting, Come in and see the amazing hard cock as it holds up a pair of pants all on its own!

Shaking his head at his stupidity, Kevin stopped in front of the house. Looking up, he smiled at the sight of Jaynell's avatar. Gideon, a three-headed dragon, took great delight in establishing a nest for himself on the rooftop of the pack house.

Kevin thought the beast added to the ambience. No one was going to mess with a wolf pack with a giant three-headed dragon on the roof.

The pack house was eerily quiet when Kevin walked through the front door, but then he'd never gone there in the afternoon. It was still too early for people with 26 *

nine to five jobs, but late enough that he knew Jay practiced his craft somewhere in one of the rooms. He could almost hear the spaghetti western music whipping through the deserted entryway.

"Baby, you're safe," James's voice boomed from the top of the stairs. Before he could respond, the wolf leaped over the rail. Landing before him, he lifted Kevin up and squeezed him within an inch of his life.

"Can't breathe," he whispered with the little air he could draw into his lungs.

"I was so worried. You didn't answer your phone, and I couldn't get hold of anyone." Oops.

Kevin hadn't turned his phone back on after his classes. Teachers didn't appreciate phones ringing during their lectures, and he didn't want to be on the wrong end of a teacher's wand for disobeying school rules.