Daniel nodded, his eyes suddenly shining.
Harris turned to Emma, who stood right behind us, and took a small wooden bowl from her. I shifted the finger of my left hand into a razor-sharp claw and drew it across my right palm. Blood beaded in the wound immediately.
I dripped it into the bowl, then took it from Harris.
His eyes flashed gold when he did the same, adding his own blood.
I dipped my fingers into it, swirling them to mix Harris’s blood with mine. Then I met Daniel’s eyes. “By blood of the alpha, we bind you,” I said. “By moon, we bless you. By land, we protect you. By pack, we claim you.”
With blood, I drew the crescent moon on his forehead, the symbol of our pack. I immediately felt the magic binding the pack together begin to settle into place like a key slipping into a lock. The symbol on the warlock’s forehead glowed faintly with golden light, though I doubted any mundane would have been able to see it.
Maybe he felt it too, because Daniel’s breath hitched. But he didn’t move or shrink away from my gaze.
My eyes locked with his, I added, “Daniel, will you pledge yourself to this pack? Will you stand with us, hunt with us, love with us, and protect us until the end of your days?”
“I will,” Daniel said, his voice steady despite the tremor I could see in his hands.
“Then speak your vow,” I told him.
Daniel took a deep breath. “I vow to protect this pack with everything I have. To stand beside you against the dark. To fightfor you in all the ways I can. To bleed for you. To speak words of honesty. To never betray you in word or deed.” He paused, and his voice became stronger, surer. He finished with, “This I swear, until the end of my days.”
If the blood was the key in the lock, the spoken vows were what turned it, sealing the magic in place and binding him to us and us to him.
Now it was our turn. Harris spoke first. “Daniel Henbane, we vow to defend you always, to the very last of us.”
“We vow to stand with you, no matter what may come,” I continued. “Your hardships are our hardships. Your success is our success. Your happiness is our happiness.”
“And from this day forth, until those gathered here draw their last breaths, we vow to claim you and recognize you as kin. As blood. As pack,” Harris finished.
Magic thrummed in the air, sharp and electric, a gossamer web of light connecting us all.
“Now you must face those you would join,” I said solemnly. “You must be accepted by all of us or none of us. Do you place your trust in the pack?”
“I do.” Daniel swallowed hard, then turned to face the circle, the bonfire casting his face in strange patterns of light and shadow.
Then he stepped forward, facing Emma. She placed her hand over his heart and said, “I see you as kin. You will protect pack, and pack will protect you.”
Daniel nodded at her, his eyes brighter than before. He proceeded around the ring. Sarah was next, then Oliver, then Lacey.
Daniel hesitated in front of Hunter, lowering his gaze to the ground, as if he couldn’t make himself look the wolf in the eye.
The twins exchanged a meaningful glance.
Lee nodded, as though Hunter had spoken—even though he hadn’t.
Hunter tipped Daniel’s chin up with his fingertips, forcing the warlock to look him in the eyes. The expression on his face was unreadable.
“I see you as kin. You will protect pack, and pack will protect you,” Hunter said softly.
Daniel blinked, and I was sure I saw wetness on his cheeks.
Last was Lee.
When Daniel stopped in front of him, Lee did something unexpected. He stepped forward and whispered in Daniel’s ear. Even with my wolf hearing, I couldn’t make out what it was.
Daniel’s expression crumpled and he let out a sharp breath.
For an awful moment, I thought Lee was rejecting him.
