Page 89 of Oracles Always Win

“Soyou’ll owe me a favor?”

Hehissed. “Don’ttry to make a deal with me, demon.Isaw those presents lined up by your motorhome.Youdon’t need more than that.”

Ismirked but waved my hand through the air to open a portal on the grass behind the inn.

“Paws!”Jakeshouted enthusiastically when the chunky cat waddled through the portal.Heran over and scooped the cat up in his arms. “Whydidn’t you come when we called?Badkitty.”

Thecreature toleratedJake’shug and scolding with surprising grace.

“Iam so happy you’re okay.”Jakesqueezed the cat.

“Okay, okay,”Pawssaid, squirming for freedom. “Enough.”

Jakestroked him another half-dozen times before letting the cat escape. “Ican’t believe he was actually talking to me the entire timeI’velived inWillowLake.WhenI’dheard him ask me questions before,IthoughtIwas going crazy.”

Aswe followedPawsaround the building to the parking lot again, a sense of calm settled over me asIwatched my mate interact with my team.Ialways felt better having my team close and it was even better withJakehere too.Offto the side,Davinawas talking animatedly to what appeared to be nothing but empty space.Shemust have found a ghost.ThewayDavina’seyes kept sliding over to me and thenJake,IsuspectedIknew what—or rather who—they were talking about.

NelsonandIsaacwere preparing to leave for the pack lands.TeagueandAdrianwere givingNelsona hard time about having to ride behindIsaacon the bike.AndJakeandJeremywere whispering quietly,Jeremyscribbling down more things in his notebook.

WillowLake’smagic bubbled around me, as if sensing my mood and rejoicing in it.Wasit trying to tell me something?Isucked in a breath, suddenly sure of whatIneeded to do.

“Everyone, get over here.Thereis something elseIneed to say.”Iwaved everyone closer.Whenthe most important people in my life were standing in a half-circle in front of me,Ibraced my shoulders. “Ifeel a connection toWillowLake.”

“But… but you said it could be bad.”Jake’sshocked whisper had me reaching for him.We’djust been talking about this; it was no surprise that he’d figured out immediately whatIwas going to tell my team.

“Butit might also be exactly whatIneed.”Ientwined my fingers with his. “Andit might be what you need too.”

“No.”Jakeshook his head. “Don’tdo this for me.Ifyou aren’t sure, you should wait.Makecertain first.Please.”

“I’mas sure asIcan be,”Isaid.Andeven asIsaid the words, a sense of rightness washed through me.Thelatent magic inWillowLakepopped and fizzed in the air around me like bubbles in champagne, while mine rushed to join it.Justwith those few words, the edges between my magic and the magic inWillowLakewere beginning to blur.Itwasn’t too different from how my magic had rushed to greetJake’s.Thiswas the way it was supposed to be.Iwas sure of it.

“Gage…”Jakewhispered and threw himself against my chest. “Please.Don’tmake a rash decision.Iknow we’ve only just met, but…”

“Lookat me,”Isaid quietly.Jakesqueezed me tighter before loosening his embrace enough to look me in the eye. “Mymagic is happy about this.Ihave to trust it.Canyou trust me to do this?Believeme,Idon’t want to leave you.I’mdoing this for myself, yes, butI’malso doing this for us.Wemay have only just met, butIdidn’t lie whenItold my teamIbelieve you are my mate.Fate, theEternalMagic,MotherMagic, or whatever you want to call her has brought us together.Thisis meant to be.I’msure of it.”

“Butwhat if it isn’t?It’stoo great a risk…”Hisvoice cracked over the question.Ididn’t want him to worry, but just hearing that he cared soothed all the jagged edges of my ancient and battered soul.

“Butwhat if it is?”

Jaketugged my shirt untilIbent down, then he slammed his mouth against mine.Thekiss was hot and desperate and so damn heart-wrenching at the same time.Whenit ended,Jakestill had his hands fisted in my shirt.Hepeered at me with glassy eyes. “Ican’t lose you too.”

Icupped his face and wiped away one of the stray tears slipping from his beautiful brown eyes. “You’vegiven me something to live for.Believeme.Iwouldn’t take this risk ifIdidn’t think it would work.”

Hewhined softly and closed his eyes, sending a few more tears cascading down his cheeks.Igently brushed them away.

“Trustme.”Ipressed my forehead against his.

“Ido…”Heswallowed hard. “Just… if something seems like it’s about to go wrong…Fuck.”Hestopped and shook his head. “Juststop it,Jake,” he muttered to himself. “Myvisions aren’t lying about us.”Thenhe looked at me again. “But, just in case this isn’t right, you fight for the life we’re going to have together.We’llget away from here.I’llcome with you.Wenever have to come back.I’lltake care of you.Okay?”

Idropped a soft kiss to his lips, unwilling to make a promiseIwasn’t sureIcould keep. “Readyto do this?”

“It’snot my decision,”Jakesaid. “Thequestion is, are you ready?”

Inodded.

“Okay.”Helooked like he wanted to puke on me again, but this time it wasn’t because of his magic. “ShouldItry to channel a vision about this?”

“Doyou think you could?”