Page 8 of Cam's Treasure

I dipped my head in a nod, aware that Cam was close enough he could hear us. I didn't want to mention my doubts to Cam, because I knew it would hurt him. He'd spent a lot of time assuring me that nothing would change between us when we found the other half of our mate bond, and it wasn't his fault that I couldn't bring myself to believe him.

"Yeah. We'll stay in Mistvale now. We got tired of being away from home," I said with a small smile, and, sensing my spiraling feelings like she always did, Saaya stepped out of the shadows, then jumped onto the bed and rubbed her side against mine before flopping into my lap. I gave her a scratch beneath her chin, and she started purring instantly.

"It'll be good to have you back. The others have missed you too. Both of you," he added grudgingly. While I knew he adored Cam too, Cam's overbearing nature was sometimes a little too much for Finn. In the beginning, Finn had stayed far, far awayfrom Cam, not wanting to get implicated in his pranks when he'd still been unsure of the permanency of his new home.

"Micah! Are you ready to head out?" Cam called from downstairs, and I shared a glance with Finn before telling Cam I'd be there in a minute.

"I'll text you later," I said, and Finn smiled, dipping his head in a nod. Pushing his reddish-brown hair off his forehead and adjusting his glasses, he got to his feet, and I followed after him as Saaya melted back into the shadows. When I'd named her, I hadn't known how apt the name would end up being, since she hadn't started traveling through shadows until a few weeks after I found her on the road.

Downstairs, I gave Padfoot some pets when he rushed up to me, his tail wagging rapidly. Neya, Raphael's squirrel familiar, was perched on Padfoot's back, where she spent most of her time, from what I'd seen over the years.

"Hey, Neya. Are you still up to your thieving ways?" I teased, and she rose up on her hind legs, giving me a look that said, 'Who, me?'

"Hey," Cam greeted as he slid to my side, his arm wrapping around my back as he stuck his face into the crook of my neck and breathed in deeply. Over the years, I'd gotten used to Cam sniffing me like I was a delectable treat. Hell, most of the time I even enjoyed it. But it still made me blush when he did it around others, and I was sure that's why he did it.

"Hey. Where are we going now?" I wouldn't mind going to one of our places and curling up in bed together. The one good thing about our long vacation had been that I got to spend a ton of time with Cam, just the two of us surrounded by a sea of strangers who didn't need our attention.

"I thought we could go back to Dad's place, unpack some of our stuff. Maybe talk to DD about the house thing," Cam suggested, and Penny perked up. She was here on break fromcollege, where she lived her life to the fullest while studying journalism, which was pretty on point for her. She was all about investigating things until she knew all there was to know about something.

"Are you moving out of your dads' places?"

"We're thinking about it," I said before Cam could answer. We hadn't talked to our dads about it yet, and I didn't want them to hear it first from the Mistvale gossip mill.

"Yeah, we haven't talked to the dads yet," Cam said, giving Penny a pointed look. Her green eyes widened, and she mimed zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key. How a zip had a key, I didn't know.

"Jai, Raph, thanks for breakfast! I really missed you guys," Cam said, and I nodded in agreement. Even though DD was the one who'd officially created the Mistvale clan, Jai and Raph were its foundation. They were the first couple in our clan to find each other, and Raphael had saved Cam's life way before I knew him, which made him my hero. I mean, sure he might've saved Cam because he'd been kidnapped and forced to, but still.

"We'll see you at the party!" Dean said with an excited grin, and I blinked. Right, Noel was going to host a welcome back party at the packland. I was looking forward to seeing everyone, but I also knew how chaotic those parties could get. Of course, Cam thrived in chaos, so I was sure we'd have fun.

Cam

The rain had stopped by the time we left Jai and Raph's, and the sun was shining down, making rain drops glitter on green leaves. I wanted to shift and fly through the air, to gaze down at myhometown in all its green glory, but I couldn't shift in the middle of the street, no matter how good my shields were.

Mistvale would never be an exclusively supe town, which meant that we had to stick to our human forms in public spaces.

When we reached my place, we walked through the front door that was, as always, unlocked. While Dad was pretty careful about locking up, DD wasnot. Guess who had rubbed off on who over the years?

We found DD in the kitchen, stirring a steaming pot on the stove as he read something on his phone. He glanced up as we walked in, his stormy gray eyes clear and almost blue today, just like the sky outside. His white hair hung messily on his forehead, and he was dressed in a faded blue t-shirt and sweatpants. No one would look at him and think 'dragon.' Well, no one who couldn't sense his absolutelymassiveaura. It didn't feel threatening to me, or any supe in Mistvale who was welcome here. But I'd seen how oppressive it could get around people who weren't good, people who'd hurt someone he cared about or felt protective of. It wasn't pretty.

"Cam, Micah! Are you hungry? Lunch will be ready in about an hour."

How long had we spent at Jai and Raph's? I'd thought we were only there for like an hour, but clearly not.

"Are you making your chicken stew?" I asked eagerly, and he grinned, nodding. DD had learned to cook after he married my dad and decided to become a stay-at-home dad to me and Amelia. The chicken stew was the first dish he'd perfected, and it was the most delicious thing in the world.

"We need to grab a shower and do some unpacking. We'll come back down for lunch," I said, then glanced around the empty house. "Will Ames and Dad be joining us?"

"Your dad will. Ames has a job at a wedding in the next town over, so she'll eat there."

My sister's passion was wildlife photography, but she also did events to pass the time. Like us, DD and Dad funded her trips, though I knew she still had a hard time accepting their money. She'd been on her own for the first fifteen years of her life, so I understood why she still struggled, especially when we grew up in a society that expected us to do everything on our own once we turned eighteen.

"Okay. We'll be down in an hour."

Taking Micah's hand, I led him upstairs and to my room, closing the door behind us.

Tugging him closer, I wrapped my arms around Micah's waist, humming at the feel of his warm, soft skin under mine.

"You know," I murmured into his neck, breathing in the sweet, clean scent of him. The scent of Mistvale clung to him too, sweet moss and morning dew, and I dragged in a deep breath, filling my lungs with my two favorite scents. "We should shower together. To save water."

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