Chapter 36

" I love you." The words were slightly choked and trembled as bad as the rest of him, but he said them with strength and purpose.

He loved his mate. Salem was his everything. He loved his giant heart and his desire to heal the world. He loved his twisted sense of humor, his stubbornness, and his relentless drive. And he loved how Salem threw himself into anything that was important to him, which now included Gregori.

"I love you so much, Salem Hunter. You're the perfect soulmate, the very person I didn't realize I needed. You complete me in a hundred little ways. I love you and don't ever want to be parted from you."

Salem slammed into him, knocking him back onto the mattress, his arms wrapped around his neck as he peppered his face with kisses. "I love you. You are my mate and I'm never ever letting you go. All those other mages and non-mages around can go jump off a bridge. You're mine."

A bright laugh burst from Gregori, but it was cut off when Salem's mouth covered his, drawing his tongue into a deep, satisfying kiss. He hugged Salem against him, reveling in this moment.

Salem broke off the kiss and lifted up enough to meet his gaze, eyes shimmering in the low light. "I love you, Gregori Valerii. Thank you for never giving up on me."

"Never."

"Good. Then what about this bonding thing? When are we doing it?"

Gregori shrugged one shoulder. "Whenever you want. We can talk to Rodrigo and work on scheduling?—"

"Now."

Gregori almost choked on his tongue. As it was, he was gasping for air and pushing against the mattress to sit up against the pillows. "Now?"

"Yes. Now. Sam said that when we're bonded, no one can separate us. Your dragon magic will extend my life so I'll live as long as you. We'll also be able to sense how each other feels." Salem pressed his hand to his heart. "I want it. I want to feel you in here all the time. Can we do it now?"

"S-sure," Gregori stammered. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was a dream come true. After all the struggles they'd had, it was astounding that he was sharing this moment with Salem, hearing these words come out of his mouth.

"Unless you'd rather wait…"

"No!" Gregori lurched into a fully sitting position and cupped Salem's cheeks, forcing his mate to meet his frantic gaze. "We will do this now. You have no idea how long I've waited for this moment. I don't want to wait another second."

"Good. I'm done making you wait for me. Is there anything we need?"

Gregori searched his mind, but there was nothing they needed. Just some magic, the words for the vow, and the words for the spell. Oh!

"Champagne!" He launched himself out of bed and snatched up his pants, which had been left on the floor.

"What? Champagne?"

"Yes, I want us to celebrate the moment properly. I'll run down and get a bottle of champagne from the wine fridge in the kitchen."

"Brilliant idea!"

As soon as he had his pants on, Gregori zipped over to the bed and captured Salem's mouth in a quick kiss. "Don't move and don't run off to bond with another dragon while I'm gone."

Salem cackled and shoved Gregori away from him. "No way! You're my perfect dragon."

With those words blooming in his heart, Gregori darted out of his apartment and down the dark halls of the Valerii compound to the kitchen. A low work light burned over the giant stove and the entire place smelled of sugar and cinnamon. Someone had been up late making a dessert. Ooooh…or pastries for breakfast tomorrow.

He moved with ease in the dark room, skirting the center island to head straight for the tall wine fridge in the far corner. He snagged a bottle of champagne with his right hand and snatched up two champagne glasses from a cabinet with his left hand. They would have to do a formal ceremony later with the entire clan, or at the very least throw a celebratory party, but tonight's bonding with just the two of them couldn't be more perfect. Salem was the only one he wanted.

With his prizes in hand, Gregori raced back to his bedroom, but he stopped on the threshold as Sam's voice stretched through the room.

" It's two in the fucking morning, Salem. What couldn't wait until morning like a normal human being ? Damn doctors don't understand the importance of sleep. "

"I need your help. I want to bond with Gregori tonight. There's a spell, right? You and Dimitri cast a spell. What is it?"

" What ?" Sam squawked. " Bonding ? Now? Like, right fucking now ?"

"Yes. We don't want to wait. We can do the big party later. I just want to make him mine right now."

Oh god, this mage was just melting his heart into a useless pool of goo. How was he supposed to continue? All he wanted to do was gather Salem up in his arms and wrap his entire body around him. Even his dragon was purring and crowing. It wanted to fly to the highest peak of the compound and roar to the world that Salem wanted to claim him.

But it was two in the morning.

As happy as his clan would be for him, none of them wanted to be awakened at this early hour.

Gregori quietly closed the door behind him and crossed to the bedroom, where he found Salem pacing with a bedsheet wrapped around his body like a toga and his cell phone held out in front of him while Sam was on speaker.

Sam's laughter started as low snickers and finally grew to loud maniacal cackles.

"What?" Salem demanded.

" Mom is going to be sooooooo pissed at you. This is the equivalent of running off to Vegas and getting married by an Elvis impersonator ."

"You're exaggerating."

" I'm no t! You were always the I'm never gonna get hitched child. The disaster dater. She had hope for me, but you ? Never ."

"Whatever. Mom and Dad will be here for the party. It'll be fine."

Sam snorted. " Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that. I'll be the one watching the shitshow with a bucket of popcorn ."

"Sam!"

" Fine. Fine. I'm texting you the words for the bonding spell right now. I don't understand why you didn't just ask Gregori in the first place ."

"But it's a spell. I thought only the mages would know it."

Sam scoffed a second time. " Those dragons are born knowing the words. I'll let him explain about the vow ."

Salem spun around, his mouth hanging open. He didn't even react to the phone in his hand flashing as Sam ended the call. "You know the spell?"

Gregori closed the distance between them and pressed a little kiss to the tip of Salem's nose. "Dragons are born knowing the words to the spell."

Salem groaned and threw his hands in the air. Grabbing up the bedsheet so his makeshift toga was away from his feet, he climbed back into the bed and crawled to the center before flopping down.

"Good. You've got the champagne, the vow, and the spell. Let's do this."

Gregori placed the bottle and glasses on the nightstand and slid into the bed next to Salem, wrapping him up in his arms and legs. He didn't want to ask, but his conscience wouldn't allow him to remain silent. "You're not worried about your mother?"

"Nah. She'll be pissed for a little while, but in the end, she'll just be ecstatic I'm mated to a dragon. Okay, so what is the vow and the spell? How do we do it? Is it okay if we do this without pants on?"

Salem bubbled over with enthusiasm, and it made Gregori just as excited.

"Yes, we can do this without pants."

A response that got Gregori kicked out of the bed so he could shed the pants he'd pulled on just so he didn't flash someone sneaking into the kitchen for a late-night snack. He jumped back into bed, but this time he sat facing Salem and held both of his hands.

"The words to the vow aren't set in stone. It's a personal promise made between the two mates. You just say whatever is in your heart, but it tends to be a variation of this."

Gregori sucked in a deep breath and squeezed Salem's hands as he stared into his mate's eyes. "Salem Hunter, I claim you as my mate. I swear to love and protect you with all my heart and all my strength. I vow to give my very last breath to see you safe and happy for all of your days. I promise to guide you and support you in all your dreams, no matter where they may take us. And I promise our children will know this same love and devotion from me."

Salem sniffled and pulled one of his hands free to wipe away the stray tears streaking down his cheeks. "Do not make me cry, you asshole."

"It's what's in my heart."

Swallowing hard, Salem nodded and grabbed Gregori's hand again. "Gregori Valerii." He stopped and sniffed again. "Gregori Valerii, you are the most amazing and patient dragon in all the world. I don't deserve you, but I swear that I will always love you. I won't let my past screw us up, either. Gregori Valerii, I claim you as my mate."

Gregori leaned in and took Salem's soft lips in a sweet, gentle kiss. His mate. Salem was one step closer to being his bonded mate at last.

"The spell," Salem whispered against his lips.

"Yes, the bonding spell." Gregori straightened and smiled. "This is the easiest part. First, I will give you some of my power with Dragon's Breath."

Salem bounced on the mattress with glee. "I heard some of the other mages talking about this and have been dying to try it."

Gregori chuckled. "We're mates. All my magic belongs to you now."

"Okay. Dragon's Breath. And then?"

"After you draw the power into your body, you'll focus and say sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitar gev adi . It means, I claim you as my mate and bind your soul to mine. I will then reply with sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitae , which means I claim you as my mate and give my soul to you."

Salem closed his eyes and repeated the words several times under his breath, wrapping his tongue around the complicated syllables until they finally rolled off naturally.

"Ready?"

Salem opened his eyes and nodded. "Ready."

Releasing one of Salem's hands, he cupped his cheek and tilted his head up. He sealed their mouths together in a deep kiss, treasuring the feel and taste of his mate. At the same time, he exhaled the breath he was holding, sending a small snippet of his power into his mate's welcoming body.

He ended the kiss and pulled away to see Salem straighten, his eyes impossibly wide.

"Whoa! That's peppy. Better than the first cup of coffee in the morning." He pressed a hand to the middle of his chest with a look of pure wonder. "I can feel you in here. Your power is wrapped around my heart. That's so amazing."

"All my magic is yours."

Salem grabbed his hand again and looked him straight in the eyes as he said, " Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitar gev adi. "

A million invisible threads shot straight into Gregori's chest from Salem, plunging into his soul.

" Sifa fat-conqi gabofo zold vitae, " he replied with the same push of magical power.

Those threads looped through his soul and leapt back into Salem, his eyes turning a brilliant gold, binding them together like two pieces of cloth.

Bonded.

He was bonded to Salem at long last.

He had found his mate and claimed him for all time.

Just as that thought was sinking into his head, Salem launched himself at Gregori, tackling him to the mattress. They kissed over and over again, soaking in this perfect private moment.

"I found you," Gregori whispered against his lips.

"And I'm never letting you go," Salem replied. "You're mine. Mine. Mine. Mine."

Gregori had never been so happy to be claimed in his life.