Page 109 of Cam's Treasure

Maybe my temperament was one of the reasons Fate had thought I'd be a good mate for Micah?

The sound of a crowd grew louder and louder as the path became narrow, and then it suddenly opened up into a large clearing.

On the other side of the clearing was another cabin, but this one looked bare, even from the outside.

"That's the gathering hall," Cam said, following my gaze.

I nodded, then turned to look at the crowd gathered in the clearing.

There were large tables set on the outer edges of the clearing, laden with foods and drinks of all kind. Like Cam and Micah had said, everyone seemed to have brought something.

Since they hadn't noticed us yet, I took a moment to look through the crowd, finding some familiar faces and many unfamiliar ones.

Cam and Micah's dads were there, as well as Cam's sister, Amelia, and Micah's brothers, Mateo and Miles.

There was Raphael and his mate, Jai, and their kids, whose names I was pretty sure were Finn, Penny, and Dean. If I remembered correctly, Penny was currently in college, so she must have been home for the weekend.

"Ready?" Cam asked with a grin, and that got the others' notice as well, eyes turning to look at us as a dark-skinned elf hurried toward us, his mess of black curls bouncing around his face.

I nodded just as the elf reached us, a wide smile on his face. "Hey, you must be Ember! I'm Noel, and it's so lovely to meet you!"

I shook his hand, smiling at the warm welcome.

"Micah and Kai took the car, so they'll be here in a bit," Cam informed Noel, who nodded, then started leading me into the crowd with his hand clamped around my forearm.

I shot Cam a slightly panicked look, but he merely grinned and nodded, following a step behind us.

The next however many minutes were a whirlwind of introductions that I was sure I'd soon forget, and I noticed Micah and Kai arrive at one point, but I didn't get to talk to them.

Jodi rushed around the open space, investigating everything before another dog, a gray-and-white husky, joined her. From the pictures shared in the clan group, I knew that was Padfoot, Jai and Raphael's dog. I blinked when I realized there was a squirrel riding on his back, and wondered if I was seeing things.

If I had to describe the Mistvale clan in a few words, they'd be something like diverse, chaotic, and welcoming.

"It's a bit overwhelming, isn't it?" Tate, a werewolf mated to Joy—Jai's younger brother—said as he glanced around the crowd, his strange purple eyes warm with fondness, and I hummed in agreement.

Noel had finally let me go, and I bit back a smile as I realized he now had Kai in his clutches. I thought about rescuing him fora moment before waving it off. Kai should get the full experience too, and I wouldn't want to take that from him.

"It is. I think it'll take me a while before I get to know everyone."

"It will. And you'll get along with some better than the others. But the friends you make here will be friends for life," he said, just as a dark-haired wolf shifter jogged up to us, sliding his arm around Tate's waist. That would be Quill, Tate's other mate.

"I'm so excited we finally have another polycule in the clan!" Quill said with a grin, his blue eyes bright with glee.

"Happy to be of help," I said with a tilt of my head, making him laugh.

"Welcome to the clan, Ember. We're really glad to have you and Kai here. It's good to see Cam and Micah so happy," Quill said, then squinted up at me. "Not that they weren't happy before. But they look more relaxed now. More at peace."

My chest warmed at the thought, and I glanced up, searching for my mates.

Cam was over by the food with the twins, talking animatedly as he snacked on the food, while Kai and Micah were on the other side of the clearing, immersed in a conversation with Neel, a human they were close friends with, and Finn, Jai and Raphael's eldest.

"I'm glad. Meeting them has changed my life too. Thank you for accepting me into your clan. I think I'll love it here."

Over the next few hours, I talked to almost every clan member, sometimes with one of my mates at my side, other times on my own. Every conversation reinforced one belief: this was the perfect clan for me, and not just because my mates belonged here.

Kai

I had never spent so much time around so many people before, and yet I didn't feel like leaving.

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