Tears spilled down his cheeks, his hands shaking as he clung to Jenni. “Fates, Pandora, you saved my lifeandmy magic. I can’t thank you enough!”
I caught Pandora’s gaze. My chest was tight with something raw and overwhelming. “Thank you.”
She smiled, exhaustion leaking into our bond. “Joel deserved his magic back. I couldn’t do it without Jenni being near him,” she admitted, glancing at the way they held on to each other.
I had to admit, their relationship didn’t seem like a trauma bond right now.
“I knew you could do it,” Death told Pandora with pride in his gaze. “Now, Joel, stop choking my mate with your pheromones.”
Something else shifted with both Jenni’s and Joel’s magic as they started to pull back. A slow, unmistakable bond between Jenni and Joel flickered to life, something deeper than magic. Something primal. Something I was familiar with: a matebond.
Death stiffened, eyes widening.“Oh.”
Jenni and Joel clung to each other again, a dazed sort of realization dawning between them.
Joel let out a shaky laugh. “I fucking knew it!”
“Wait, hold on.” Jenni pulled away slightly, eyes flicking to Death. “Are you…okay with this?”
Death ran a hand down his face, sighing. “I was jealous of Joel before now. I’ll admit that. But now that the bond is there between you two…I’m not. The jealousy is literally not there anymore. If anything, I’m rather fond of him. The Fates always know what they’re doing, so Joel’s...family now.”
“You accepted that so quick, Death.” Joel choked on a laugh, pulling Jenni into a tighter embrace. “Thank you, though, and thank you, Pandora, for giving me this.”
Pandora and I watched as the moment settled around us. I placed a hand on her back, warmth spreading through me. Happiness for them bounced through our own bond.
Joel had always wanted a mate, and now he had one. Plus, he shared a bond with my mate’s father.
That made him family, too.
“Congratulations, you two,” she said with a grin. “Dad, I’m happy our family is growing.”
“Me too,” he murmured, and there was not a hint of jealousy in his tone, his gaze, or his soul as he watched Jenni and Joel hug.
Though, I could relate to how he must be feeling. I felt the same warmth in my heart watching Pandora with any of her other mates.
Jenni grabbed Death’s hand, too, jumping to her feet and tugging both of her mates toward the door. “Enjoy your session, you two! I’ll be busy for the next few days.”
Death smirked playfully. “IfJoel can even get it up.”
Pandora cringed.
“Nu-uhh,” Joel blurted, pointing at his crotch that obviously sported an erection. “Jenni fixed it, see?”
I groaned, jumping to my feet, and immediately covered Pandora’s eyes. “Dude, in front of my mate?”
“Shit, sorry, Hunt!” Joel yelped.
Jenni cackled. “Oh, fuck, yes! Someone as open as I am!”
Death slammed the door shut behind them. “My daughter saw that, Joel!”
“She sees more than you think from her own mates,” Jenni teased him as they disappeared down the hall.
“Oh my Fates,” Death muttered. “I don’t want to think about that!”
Pandora and I started laughing, my chest pressed against her back, the weight of the moment settling into something warm and inevitable.
She grabbed my wrist and pulled my hands from her eyes as she turned to face me. “I did it! Fates, I had a suspicion they were mates, but the way it snapped immediately shocked me. Dad’s even okay with it!”
