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P hillip breathed easily for the first time in his brief life. With Victor on one side of him and Keegan on the other, Phillip’s dragon was in ecstasy. Unfortunately, the man in question was growing uneasy. While Victor appeared excited to meet him and Keegan, there was also a crease between his brows as food was passed around the round table.

The Daray home was pleasing. Past the wooden table loaded with dishes, there was an enormous kitchen filled with cabinets and shiny stone countertops. The dining table sat beyond a row of teal cushioned barstools. A few feet away was a gigantic living area, complete with a magical lagoon where a gray river otter with butterfly wings floated.

Couches in a deep chocolate brown that reminded Phillip of Keegan’s beautiful eyes were arranged around a big television. To break up the monotony of color, there was a plethora of throw pillows in varying shades of teal. Adding to the ambiance was a wash of fading sunlight through the windows stretching from ceiling to floor. Pinks, peaches, and even a hint of purple painted the sandy mountains and the Las Vegas skyline.

It was an enviable view but less striking to Phillip than the handsome redhead and pretty blond Fate had granted him. Phillip wanted to revel in Fate’s bounty, but the tension in Victor’s slight frame gave him pause. Apparently sensing him staring, Victor glanced up at Phillip. His green eyes were accented with liner and shadow, and Phillip idly wondered how long it’d taken his mate to perfect his artistry with make-up.

Someone cleared their throat, and Phillip turned to his leader.

“Is everyone done filling their plates?” Alaric asked with irritation as he glared at the other Darays.

“Babe, what’s wrong?” Chander asked.

“The Daray family is finally alone, so I can offer my congratulations to Victor and his mates, but it has taken everyone entirely too long to pass around the food,” Alaric complained.

“Phillip’s time is limited,” Samson pointed out. “We’re trying to allow him to eat his entire dinner before he needs to go home.”

“What do you think Phillip is more excited about?” Alaric asked belligerently, one dark brow rising. “Eating or celebrating an incomparable day thanks to Fate?”

“Who’s stopping you from congratulating them now?” Chander asked.

Alaric narrowed his glowing gaze at his other half briefly, then turned toward Phillip and his mates with a bright, winning smile. “Phillip and Keegan, allow me to officially welcome you to the Daray family. I have no question that the three of you will be happily mated. Sentinels never fail, and neither does Victor.”

“Of course they aren’t going to fail, but it won’t kill you to compliment a fallen knight,” Arvandus teased. “Keegan won’t fail either.”

“Definitely not at this,” Alaric agreed.

“Are Phillip and Keegan moving in today?”

Next to Phillip, Victor choked on his drink and coughed loudly. Unsure how to aid him, Phillip glanced at Keegan. In his brown gaze, Phillip found his own concern reflected at him.

“Are you okay?” Keegan asked softly.

“Yes, sorry,” Victor managed as his eyes watered. The tension in his frame was miraculously gone, and Phillip was glad that he appeared to be okay. “Here I was worried that everyone wasn’t happy for us, and now they’re trying to move Phillip and Keegan in immediately.”

“Why would you think we weren’t happy?” Baxter demanded.

Victor’s head snapped up. “Whoops, didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

“Too bad we heard you,” Benton countered.

“Of course we are happy for you,” Ducarius stated. “We have long asked Fate to bring you a mate. And she rightly paired you with a sentinel. Thankfully, Phillip is a shifter too, so he can care for both you and Keegan should you encounter danger.”

“Here we go,” Chander muttered.

“Fallen knights can take care of themselves,” Samson argued.

Inside Phillip, his dragon roared. Unlike the usual aimless grumbling and the threat to shift that pushed Phillip to beg for stasis, the beast was relatively calm. However, there was something in Phillip that told him the dragon was far surer of his ability to care for Victor than Keegan. Was that because Keegan had a beast past the veil? It was an issue they would still have to address with the Arch Lich despite Phillip’s fear of insulting the powerful imp-necromancer.

“Do we have champagne in the house?” Brynnius asked. “We need to celebrate Fate bringing Victor his mates. I can help getting the guest rooms ready if Phillip and Keegan are moving in today.”

“Relax everyone,” Victor said. “No one is moving in tonight. Keegan is in training. It’s important for him to stay at the Ascension Center until he’s completed his tests.”

“Why?” Skeleton Lord Eduard Daray asked. “Sam lived here while he went through his training at the Ascension Center. It did not affect his studies, otherwise he would not be a Venerable Knight now.”

“That was different,” Victor explained. “Sam was living here before he started training. The last thing Keegan needs to worry about is changing his space. We can get to know one another after he is done each day.”

“Every day Keegan comes to visit me in my room,” Phillip stated quietly. “It would be an honor if you were willing to join us so we can get to know each other.”

“Yeah, we’d love that,” Keegan added quickly, flashing the smile that never failed to get Phillip’s dick to twitch with interest.

“I’d love that too,” Victor said, his mouth curving. To Phillip’s delight, his desire grew at the expression. His mates were giving him the same intense reaction. That soothed him. The last thing he wanted was to find himself more attracted to one or the other. Having more erections would be annoying, but perhaps now that his dragon was calmer, and he’d remained awake for nearly the entire day, he could be alone to deal with his desire.

“I’ll talk to Dra’Kaedan,” Chander insisted. “We’ll figure out the easiest way to teleport you over. Alaric and I can go with you since we’re there to help Phillip anyway. Speaking of which, how’s your dragon doing, Phillip?”

“He is the most relaxed I have felt him thus far,” Phillip answered. “I believe he is happy to finally find himself with both of his mates.”

“Perhaps he has found it difficult to rest or set aside his concern because he was aware that he had two mates waiting for him,” Alaric suggested.

Chander’s brow furrowed. “That would suggest that the part of the spell designed to clear the memory of a shifter’s beast failed.”

Although Phillip had intended to initiate a conversation about that very thing with Chander, he and Keegan had wanted to do it with the Arch Lich alone. Thankfully, Alaric had brought it up, so Phillip didn’t need to be concerned that anyone was insulted. Phillip’s beast grumbled, and a surge of intense emotion rippled through him. It was a mixture of anxiety and fear.

The beast was happy to be near Victor and Keegan, but Phillip worried that the minute either man left his presence, his struggles would return immediately.

“You’re an incredible sorcerer, but is that a possibility?” Alaric asked.

“Of course it is,” Chander replied immediately. “This is uncharted territory. We worked with our best assumption that changing the words would clear the memory of a shifter’s beast, but the reality is there are limits to magic. Perhaps Fate doesn’t allow us to alter a beast in that way.”

“Is it possible that Phillip’s dragon is reacting to a lack of beast within Keegan?” Samson asked. “Obviously, that’s not an issue with Victor since he has his kitty, but Keegan isn’t a shifter.”

“What kind of cat are you?” Phillip asked. He’d sensed from the minute he met Victor that he was a cat, but there were far too many breeds for even his delicate senses to be able to accurately pinpoint it.

“I’m a Russian Blue,” Victor stated proudly.

“Phillip and I will have to learn everything we can about Russian Blues then,” Keegan replied.

“They are very pretty cats,” Brynnius offered. “There are pictures in the living room; we will show you at least one before you leave.”

“Yes, they are gorgeous,” Chander said. “And to answer your question, Sam, I suppose that is possible. The problem is we have to shadow walk and hope we’re lucky enough to run into someone like Morcant to answer that question.”

Archduke Morcant Darayvipera nodded. In his first life, he and Brynnius had been brothers. It was Morcant who’d guided Brynnius’s wyvern back into his body as he’d stepped over the veil during his own resurrection. “I hope you are fortunate enough to encounter a relative willing to aid you.” He cracked a grin that lit up his brown scaly gaze. “I also hope he or she is kinder to everyone than I was upon meeting you.”

“You had plenty of reason to be upset,” Samson insisted. “And none of that matters now. What’s important is that by locating B’s beast, it helped settle mine down.”

“Keegan and Phillip, would you be willing to shadow walk with me to see if my spell was fucked up?” Chander asked.

Alaric lifted a hand. “Before you answer, allow me to tell my mate that he didn’t fuck up. As you pointed out, the spell was an experiment. You did the best you could, and you don’t know if it didn’t work as intended yet. There is no reason to beat yourself up about it.”

The muscles in Chander’s jaw flexed as his nostrils flared. “Well, guess what? I’m the necro who cast the damn spell. If it failed, it was my fault. People shouldn’t be experiments. Look at what Phillip has endured since his resurrection. Even now, he spends more time asleep than awake.”

“The stronger potion you gave me today has allowed me to stay up since breakfast,” Phillip quickly pointed out. If that experience was repeated the next day, Phillip would be confident enough to shoo everyone out so they could attend to their jobs. “My resurrection as a sentinel shifter was not a bad thing. I refuse to grow frustrated. While my dragon is not adjusting swiftly to life, Fate has granted me not one but two mates. I do not believe that reality has settled in yet. How have I gotten so lucky? My emotions are subdued thanks to the potions, but I can assure you I am happy to be here with both Keegan and Victor.”

Keegan and Victor aimed smiles at him, and a rush of euphoria flowed through Phillip and his dragon. His words were completely truthful. The weeks since his resurrection had not been perfect, but Fate had not forsaken him. Quite the contrary. Phillip was luckier than most, and his future promised to be remarkable. How could it be anything less with two mates?

“Are we shadow walking tonight?” Baxter asked.

“Okay, first, you aren’t going,” Chander retorted. “Secondly, no. Keegan has class in the morning. If he and Phillip are willing, we should do it on the weekend to keep it from unduly impacting Keegan’s training.”

“I’m willing to do it,” Keegan said.

“Me too. Can Victor not join us?” Phillip asked. “It does not feel right to exclude Victor from anything. Fate intended us as a triple matebond to do everything together.”

“Thank you for saying that,” Victor replied. “My cat and I are feeling the same way. I’d love for us to do everything together. However, this time you guys will have to tell me about it afterwards. Only dark sorcerers or undead guys like you and Keegan can cross the veil.”

“In that case, I hope you’re ready for us to give you every tiny detail,” Keegan responded.

“I look forward to it,” Victor assured him.

“This weekend words for me,” Keegan told Chander. “I can’t wait to find out if I was a shifter. Hopefully, I’m something cool, like a dragon or Russian Blue.”

“Great,” Chander said. “And for the record, if the spell didn’t work properly, I’m never using it again. I’m not going to listen to any arguments trying to persuade me either. We can’t keep hurting people and forcing unsuspecting sentinels and fallen knights with beasts to endure potions and stasis to begin their lives. I doubt either Keegan or Victor would be any less impressed by their mate if he was a regular sentinel instead of a dragony one.”

Although Phillip was proud to be a sentinel, he had yet to impress anyone with his shifting ability, so he agreed wholeheartedly with the Arch Lich. What he wanted most was to be normal and train alongside his fellow recruits. But because of Phillip, no other sentinels had been added that year. The Arch Lich had opted not to resurrect any others thanks to Phillip’s struggles.

It wasn’t fair to the Sentinel Brotherhood, and Phillip hoped he could talk Alaric into rectifying the situation next year by doubling the number of recruits. Hopefully, by then, Phillip would be happily bonded to the two beautiful men gifted to him by Fate. He also hoped to be off his potions and no longer require stasis to get through his days.

To do so, Phillip needed a tight bond with his dragon. He was determined to do whatever it took to build the type of friendship with his beast required of all shifters, and he’d bust his ass to be the best damn sentinel too.