Page 115 of Cam's Treasure

Ember

I was so glad to be back.

While I hadn't remembered everything until just recently, I'd known something was missing since I could consciously think. It'd felt like a hollowness in the center of my chest, like the most important part of me was gone, and it'd made me uneasy.

While this rebirth had been much better than all the ones before—I'd spent those curled up asleep in some hidden corner hoping not to be discovered—it'd also been the worst, because this time I'd had something to miss, someone waiting for me to get back, and I'd felt it, even if I couldn't understand what the feeling was.

But now that I was surrounded by my mates, their scents mixing with mine in our home, I finally felt right, felt complete.

"What about you, Micah? How's your work been?"

Micah sat up so he could meet my gaze, his brown eyes bright and happy. "It's been great! And now that Cam's got the hang of his powers, it makes things so much easier."

Before I had to 'leave,' Cam had been working on his void magic so he could 'eat' just enough of Micah's magic to turn off his telepathic abilities for a few hours.

"Does that mean you did it?" I asked Cam, and he smiled proudly.

"I did! I can even tell how much magic I need to take for his power to be off for a specific number of hours."

"That's amazing," I said, making him preen.

"It is, isn't it? I can finally relax without worrying about a headache. He even figured out how to leave me just enough magic so our mental link works even when I can't read minds."

"Really?" It seemed like Cam was a quick learner—at least when cooking wasn't involved—because that sounded like it would take some skillful maneuvering. "Great job, Cam."

"Thanks!" he said, then chuckled sheepishly when his stomach growled.

I blinked, then glanced at the clock. "It's almost lunch time. How about I make something and we can continue catching up as we eat?"

Cam stared at me for a long moment as Kai and Micah also fell utterly silent, and then Cam threw himself at Micah and me, wrapping his arms around us tightly as Kai shifted closer.

"Fuck, I missed you so much, Ember," he mumbled against my ear, his voice choked. Wait, was he tearing up?

Removing my arm from Micah's side, I reached up to cup Cam's chin, waiting a moment so he'd pull back. I met his eyes, and, yeah, they were a little glassy. God, I wished I could've stayed. I wished my magic didn't have this stupid condition attached to it.

Pulling him closer, I kissed Cam soundly, hoping he could feel my apology. "I'm back now. And I'm not going anywhere." I didn't add 'for the next hundred years,' but I knew without Micah's magic that everyone was thinking it.

When Cam pulled away, I kissed Micah, moaning softly when he took over instantly. It was only the thought of feeding my mates that gave me the strength I needed to pull away, and the look in Micah's eyes almost pulled me back in.

Kai shifted closer, and I shared a kiss with him as well, a sweet kiss full of warmth and comfort.

As their tastes lingered on my lips, on my tongue, I felt my heart settle, and it took everything in me to stand up, but the need to feed my mates kept me going.

Of course, my mates followed right behind me, and I was glad our kitchen was large enough it wouldn't feel crowded with all four of us.

The stocked pantry and fridge made me feel a little better, since I'd been just a teensy bit worried they hadn't been eating properly.

"Micah and I cooked," Kai said, as if he could tell what I'd been thinking. "We're nowhere near as good as you, of course, but we managed to make edible food."

"That's true," Cam said, then blanched when he got two mirroring glares from Micah and Kai. "What? It is. You know it is!"

"You don't have tosayit," Kai grumbled, and Cam slid up behind Micah and Kai, who'd settled on the barstools, and threw his arms around their shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I'd have starved and wasted away without you two, so thank you."

Shaking my head at his antics, I gathered up some ingredients to make a quick stir-fry and some sandwiches. Now that I was fully back to myself, my hunger was starting to settle, but since my mates had loved my previous build better—muscles with a bit of a belly—and since I felt most like myself that way, I planned on eating a little extra and working out until I reached that form again.

As I made lunch, we kept talking, and I got to know about everything they'd gotten up to, in and out of the house.

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