Page 101 of Oracles Always Win

WhenIfinally pulled my claws from the earth and sat back on my heels,Ilifted my face to the sun to savor the sensation of all this magic dancing through me.Itwas mine, but not.Familiar, but not.Itwould take some adjustment to acclimate to the change, but the joining was complete.WillowLakewas mine andIwas hers.

Awestruckwhispers from the others floated over me.

“Beautiful,”Jakemurmured, drawing my gaze to him.Mymate.Hewas sitting up now.Hischeeks had a little more color than they had a moment earlier, but he still looked exhausted.

“Willyou accept me as your anchor?”Iasked.PerhapsIshould have waited until we were alone, butIdidn’t want to postpone.Ineeded to protectJakein every way possible.

“Always,”Jakewhispered. “Iaccept you as my everything.Mymate, my love, my tether.”

Tearsgathered in his eyes as he gazed at me with such love and tenderness.Ithumbled me.Thisamazing, strong, and talented man had chosen me.Hisvisions had suggested it, but, in the end, it wasJakewho decided to love me.

“Ilove you,”Iwhispered asIwrapped him in my arms and bent to kiss him.Wewere both kneeling now, our bodies pressed together from our knees to our mouths.Aroundus, our friends and family grew quiet.

Whenour lips met,Iclosed my eyes.Onceagain,Iallowed instinct and magic to guide me.Mymagic had never felt stronger as it raced to do my bidding and wrapped us in a gentle embrace.Jakegasped against my mouth.Heleaned back to stare into my eyes.

Didhe see the black, white, and red ribbons of magic weaving around us?Thoseribbons wove together, illustrating our lives together.Visionafter vision swirled around us.Toomany to count.Toomany to see.Butthey weren’t the wild and uncontrolled chaos thatJakehad gone through earlier.Jake’smagic wasn’t generating these moments alone.No, this was the two of us together.Andit was balanced and stable and perfect.

Beautiful.

Hewas beautiful.

Then, just as it had whenI’djoined withWillowLake, the magic binding us together seeped into our bodies.Thevisions floated over us like a veil as ancient words, unknown but familiar, fell from our lips.Iwasn’t worried.Irecognized the depth of the magic welling inside us.Thiswas theEternalMagic.Thesame magicI’djust felt emanating from the center of the earth.Thesame magic that connected us all.

Butthis blessing wasn’t just to tether him to me to stabilize his oracle magic.Itwas so much more than that.Thiswas for mates.TheEternalMagicwas connecting our lives, joining us together from this moment forward.

Thistime when the magic settled, a single shimmering thread stretched between us for a long moment, merging our lives together forever.

“Fuck,”Davinamuttered with a sniffle. “Youmade me cry.”

“Didthey just…?”Isaacwhispered.

“Yep,”Jeremyagreed. “They’reall bonded, complete with matching tattoos.Butthey didn’t get to have magical sex when they bonded.Sucksto be them.Whereis my pen?Ireally need to write this down beforeIforget.It’sdifferent seeing it than doing it.”

“Youwere a little preoccupied with other things when it happened,”Adrianreminded his mate gruffly.

“Yes,WolfMan, we had magical sex.ButIjust feel like we’re gloating by talking about it now sinceGageandJakedidn’t get that.”

“Weshould really go have magical sex,” my mate whispered in my ear.

Adriansnickered.Withhis wolf hearing, he would have heardJake’swords.

“Excellentidea.”Iswept my mate into my arms and carried him toward the motorhome. “Mymate andIneed some time alone.”

“Youdidn’t have to tell everyone,”Jakemurmured as he pressed his heated face into my neck.

“Adrian,”Jeremysaid, “we should go back to the hotel and get cleaned up too.”Noone was fooled by what he said.Hejust wanted to get his mate alone for sex.And, after the impressive way his magic reached out to protect bothAshand my mate today, he deserved to celebrate however he wanted.

“Andwhere are we supposed to get cleaned up if the motorhome is off limits?”Isaacasked.

“Thelake is just over there,”Ishouted over my shoulder, making my mate laugh and the rest of my teams’ jaws drop open in surprise.Nothinghad ever felt better in my life.

Chapter Thirty-Six

JAKE

AsGagecarried me to the motorhome, we were serenaded by catcalls and hooting.Afew people laughed about us being eager newlyweds.Andit was true.Becomingtethered toGagereminded me of a marriage ceremony.

We’dbeen surrounded by his family.Thelocation had been beautiful—he’d found a spot far enough away from the back of the inn that it hadn’t been damaged by the bombs.Thebreeze had even cooperated and blown the lingering smell of smoke and ash in the other direction.