The Mates Who Gave Him Salvation [Feral 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) by Scarlet Hyacinth Page A

pissed off with a certain canine deity had he not felt so grateful.
    “Had Roarke bitten either one of us outside the astral realm, the feral virus would have claimed our minds,” he told Quinn. “But here, souls are stronger than flesh. Also, you must understand that your psychic ability is far stronger here than outside. It reacted to Roarke claiming me and caused the bond between you and me to appear.”
    Understanding dawned on Quinn’s face. “But I didn’t know how to control it. I was losing myself in it.”
    G’aladon nodded. He knew how scary that could be, as he himself had lost his reason and his heart due to absorbing excessive magic. “That’s why it was important for Roarke to bite you. He anchored you.”
    “Is he safe now?” Roarke asked G’aladon. “Are you?”
    It was quite telling that Roarke only worried about Quinn and G’aladon, but never once considered that the entire thing might have an effect on him as well. G’aladon smiled. “We’ll be fine.”
    “I’m glad you think that,” a sudden voice said behind him. As G’aladon turned, he was unsurprised, but still somewhat resentful when he saw the Spirit Mother there. “It’s time.”

Chapter Five
     
    The connection between Quinn and his two mates was the most beautiful thing in existence. For Quinn, it was kind of scary to lose control of himself the way he had, but knowing he had Roarke and G’aladon there with him reassured him beyond any shadow of a doubt. However, his fearlessness vanished when he spotted the Spirit Mother and heard her words.
    “Time for what?” he blurted out. “What do you mean?”
    “You can’t exactly stay here forever, Quinn,” the white wolf told him. “We must proceed to the next step of the plan.”
    Quinn disliked the way she phrased her comment, as if their coupling was a clinical process, not something born naturally out of their bond. Obviously sensing his dismay, Roarke embraced him, petting his hip.
    “You never said how G’aladon is supposed to get out of here in the first place.” Protectiveness echoed in Roarke’s voice, seemingly stronger than even the respect he felt for his creator. “What are we supposed to do now?”
    “If G’aladon wishes to proceed with his original idea of granting souls to the orcs, I can do it, but it’ll have to be with a sacrifice from his part.”
    “Sacrifice?” Quinn repeated in disbelief. “Wait just a minute. I thought you said he would be safe, that he wouldn’t have to…”
    He trailed off, unable to finish the phrase. He simply couldn’t bring himself to say the words. To his surprise, G’aladon smiled at him. “I don’t think it’s what Shaiyta intends,” he said.
    Shaiyta. Quinn had heard G’aladon call the Spirit Mother that before, but it still seemed a little strange. Stranger still, though, was that his lover smiled at the white wolf, all hostility gone.
    “Let me guess,” he added. “I have to give up my power.”
    “The full extent of your magic, yes,” the Spirit Mother clarified. “You will essentially be a normal human. You might be able to keep a few traces of your abilities, but they’ll be nothing like what you were used to.”
    G’aladon threw a look toward Quinn and Roarke. “I don’t care about that,” he said, “as long as I survive this. I don’t want to leave them.”
    “Your bond with Roarke will keep you alive for as long as he is,” the Spirit Mother said. Quinn was more and more confused, and G’aladon must have realized that, as he turned toward Quinn. “Magic is what keeps witches alive longer than they would have normally lived. My abilities are very limited here, but I can’t die because of the astral realm’s nature. Once I go out, though, the rules will be different. If I lose my abilities, chances are that my age will finally catch up to me.”
    “That won’t happen,” the white wolf assured them. “You are Roarke’s mate now, and whether you like it or not, you fall under