Thomas stood up, sliding beneath Jay's dangling hand as if to support him. Fur slid through Jay's fingers as he stared at his teachers.

"Which of my old professors did you consult?"

"Me." Michael Dragonspawn walked into the room.

"I had to come check on my favorite student."

Thomas started growling beneath Jay's hand.

"Shh," Jay whispered. He gave a nod to his old professor, not that anyone could call Dragonspawn old. He might be twenty or he might be two hundred, but the man was handsome. Jay had more than one fantasy as a young boy about his teacher, but there was something off about the man's eyes that bothered Jay more and more as he got older.

Dragonspawn's eyes had an iridescent quality that was both eerie and entrancing, like watching a beautiful reptile and wondering when it was going to strike. During his training, Jay always thought that his teacher was waiting for something, but after years of being tutored by the famous wizard, he still didn't know what.

"Greetings, Professor Dragonspawn," Jay said, giving the man a respectful bow. He might not be comfortable in the man's presence, but there was no doubting that he had helped train Jay a great deal of his life and shared many of his magical secrets. Dragonspawn was 40 *

one of the reasons Jay was so adept with what he could do.

Even though he might have resented so many lessons in his youth, now that he was older, he was thankful that he'd learned so much.

Thomas couldn't stop the growl that built up in his throat. He didn't like how this Dragonspawn person looked at his mate. The man's eyes glowed with more than affection. It was more like avarice, like he wanted something that Jay had or maybe Jay himself.

His beautiful wizard might not realize his own appeal, but Thomas was more than aware others coveted his mate. Others that might not recognize a cross-species mating and think they had a chance. There was something wrong with this new man. He smelled wrong. The other professors in the room smelled of books and magic and intellectual pursuits. Dean smelled like a healthy young male full of testosterone and power. Jay smelled of sunshine, magic and the indefinable essence of all the best things in the world, a sure sign that he was Thomas' mate.

Dragonspawn smelled of power, secrets, and ribboned through his essence was a wide swathe of evil.

This was a man to watch.

41.

This was a man to protect his mate from.

Thomas stepped protectively closer to his Jaynell.

The bad man was a threat, but he stopped growling because he didn't want to embarrass the young wizard.

Dragonspawn was an important wizard. Even shape shifters knew his name. Important didn't equal safe.

Jaynell's hands came down to scratch him behind the ear. If it didn't feel so glorious, he'd object to being treated like a dog. He'd have to have a long talk with his mate about shape shifter rules. Of course, the feel of those wonderful fingers through his fur might be worth the occasional mocking of his peers.

"Thank you for vouching for me, Professor Dragonspawn." Jaynell's voice sounded oddly calm like he was using his soothe-the-beast voice. Since his mate's fingers continued to pet, Thomas didn't think the tone was for him. "Now, if you don't mind, I'll go get my schedule from the registrar and take my boyfriend home before he loses his temper and bites someone."

"That's a good idea, my boy," Dragonspawn said in a caressing tone that made Thomas want to bite him. If he didn't think it would get his lover expelled, he'd leave a nice set of teeth marks on the man's ass.

"Come on, Thomas," Jaynell whispered.

The pair left the room together. When they reached 42 *

the green space, Thomas darted behind a bush and retrieved his bag. A quick change had him shivering. With shaking hands, he quickly dressed and threw the backpack over his shoulder.

"Do you ever get arrested for indecent exposure?"

Jaynell asked, wonderingly.

Thomas laughed. "Only once, but luckily the judge was a shifter so I was let loose with a warning to pick my spots better. This is the unglamorous part they never show in movies. I've heard of a few shifters who can keep their clothes when they shift, but I think that's a just a story some wizard made up to make us feel inferior."

Thomas regretted the words as soon as they were out of his mouth.

"I didn't mean you, love."

"Is that the general attitude of shifters towards wizards?"

"A lot, yeah." Thomas held up his hands. "But you know how it goes with any group. It's always us against them."

"What about with us? Are we going to be able to make it work with us being so different?"

Thomas linked his fingers through his mate's.

"We will make it work because of two things. One, we are mates. Which means even if you were a three-eyed, 43 *

green-skinned troll I would still want to claim you as mine, and two, you're too stubborn to quit. You wouldn't let a group of shape shifters scare you off, now would you?"

Thomas hoped like hell that his lover wouldn't say yes. He didn't want to go to jail for stalking. He wouldn't be the first shifter that happened to, but he didn't want to be the latest.

"It's not a matter of quitting." Jaynell said, his fingers firmly entwined with Thomas'. "It's a matter of whether we can make a life as a couple. I don't even have disapproving parents, but you have an entire pack."

Thomas leaned down and pressed his lips against the beautiful man, quieting his words. Jaynell's lips were warm and soft. Little pulses of desire sparked down Thomas' body as a growl rolled up his chest.

When he finally lifted his head, Jay's eyes were filled with lust and his gorgeous mate was leaning on him for support.

"With werekin, relationships are easy. You have your mate and your pack. Everyone else is either food or friend. All I have to do is tell everyone you're my mate and they will accept you. I can't promise there won't be the occasional wizard joke, but for a werekin, a mate is sacred.

I can no sooner not pick you as I can remove a limb. Trust me when I say wizard or not, you will be accepted."

44.

Jaynell nodded. "That's all that matters. I don't want to get between you and your pack."

"The only thing that might get between me and my pack is my brother as pack leader. As much as I love my brother, I can't stand him sometimes, but I know he supports me in claiming you as my mate."

"If you're sure." Jaynell still didn't sound confident, but his eyes were steady as he looked into Thomas' eyes.

"I'd like to see where this relationship goes."

Thomas held back a laugh. How did you explain to someone that their relationship wasn't a trial? Mates didn't check to see if things would work. Mates connected and then stayed together for the rest of their lives. The only way to rid yourself of a werekin mate was through death, and even then, it was thought that their souls connected in the afterlife.

Thomas didn't even try to explain it to his beautiful, powerful man. He'd find out on his own. In the meantime, Thomas would watch Jaynell and keep him from harm. His wolf instincts told him that danger was just around the corner, and it was his job to prevent it from finding his love.

"Come on, sweet, let's go get some lunch," Thomas said, flinging an arm around his mate. "You'll feel more settled with some food."

45.

"Somehow I doubt it," Jaynell said dryly, but he let Thomas lead him towards the student union to get something to eat.

Jaynell entered the cafeteria with Thomas at his side. After spending so much of his life alone, it was strange to have someone walking beside him. Jaynell's father had been ill for most of his life so the young man was used to doing things by himself.

Knowing Thomas believed they were mates gave Jaynell a confidence that the other man would stay with him even if he was a bit strange or, as one tutor said, "a scarily powerful wizard."

Thomas didn't care what Jaynell could do. The werekin didn't think of Jaynell as anything except his mate who happened to do magic.

It was a refreshing change.

Looking up, he was amused to see Thomas' head whipping back and forth as if he scented something.

"What do you smell?" Jaynell asked. The curiosity was eating him up. "Do things smell different when you're a human?"

Thomas gave him a sweet smile. "Honey, I'm never 46 *

human. I might look like a man on the outside, but I'm always a wolf at heart. Which means, no matter where you go, I'll be able to find you."

There should've been something sinister about the way Thomas' eyes glowed with fervor, but Jay found it reassuring. It was difficult going from a completely sheltered life to a rudderless existence. Total freedom was only fun in concept, and he'd dreamed of that concept for years. As much as he loved his father, he'd felt the weight of his father's sacrifice with each loving look and every burning brand. Jaynell had survivor's guilt in spades for both parents. Guilt he knew neither of them would've wanted him to carry. It didn't change the fact that he missed his father and longed for the mother he never knew. His father had shown him pictures and told Jaynell stories of the wonderful woman that gave birth to him, but it was hard to bond with a picture, no matter how beautiful it was.

A large hand cupped Jaynell's shoulder, pulling him from his past.

"Troubles are lighter if they're shared," Thomas said. He should've sounded like a cheesy post card, but the caring expression on the werekin's handsome face went straight to Jaynell's heart.

He shook his head. "It's nothing that can be helped, but I appreciate that you want to try."

47.

Thomas' expression remained troubled. "You let me know when you're ready to talk. As your mate, I know when you're worried, and I don't like the pain weighing down your soul."

Jaynell couldn't stop the smile breaking out. "Thank you, but my soul isn't going to get any lighter even if I put all my troubles on your big, strong shoulders." He went to his toes and gave Thomas a kiss on the cheek. "I do appreciate the thought though."

The pair went through the line where Jaynell put extra veggies on Thomas' plate just to watch his disgusted expression and Thomas put more meat than three people could consume on Jaynell's plate.

Jay looked at the bloody blob on his plate. "I think I'm going to turn vegetarian."

Thomas laughed. "Nonsense. No wolf would ever have a vegetarian as a mate. Besides," he said with a leer, "you'll need to keep your energy up."

Shaking his head at Thomas' antics, Jaynell led them to an unoccupied booth. Settling in, he slid his feet on either side of Thomas', comforted by the werekin's company.

They were halfway through their meal when a gnome materialized beside them. It was a boy gnome from the look of his black leather jacket and torn up jeans.

48.

After giving a surprisingly graceful bow, the boy gave Jaynell an uncertain smile. "Word is that you might be looking for a house gnome," he said in his native tongue.

Jay knew this was coming, but he hadn't realized it would happen so soon. Gnomes were attracted to magical power, which was why they worked mostly at or around magical universities and corporations where magic was studied. Jaynell was his own magic supernova, so it was only a matter of time before gnomes started lining up to be owned. Visions of the mess that could be created with five men in a dorm went through Jaynell's mind. Once they graduated, his roommates could get gnomes of their own.

Unfortunately, at this level of training, they didn't have the power structure to support a gnome.