Page 51 of Cam's Treasure

While I made friends wherever I volunteered, I'd always done it on my own. I didn't really have any supe friends, and I tended to keep my human friends at a distance because I'd have to leave them one day, and it was too heartbreaking otherwise.

All of that to say I wasn't close enough to anyone to ask them to volunteer with me.

The idea of working at a soup kitchen or a community center with Cam and Micah at my side felt too good to be true. I'd love to share something like that with them, for them to feel that sense of joy and contentment that I felt whenever I saw the smiles of the people I was helping.

"Yeah. It's important to you, isn't it? And helping people is never a bad thing. So we'd like to join, if it's okay with you."

My wide smile was all the answer needed, but I nodded anyway so there were no doubts.

"I'd like that. I have a shift coming up at the soup kitchen on Friday."

"Just tell us when and where, and we'll be there," Cam said, and Micah nodded in agreement.

My heart felt too big for my chest, and I had to clear my throat a few times before I could speak.

"Thank you. That means a lot to me." Their smiles made my belly warm, and I wondered what their lips tasted like. Shaking my head, I spoke, if only to keep my thoughts from drifting that way again. "What about you? What do you two do in your free time?"

For the next few hours, Cam regaled me with tales of his pranks, while Micah piped in every now and then with some pointed comments that had Cam and me laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. They'd clearly gotten up to a lot of trouble in their younger days, and Cam at least seemed to be determined to keep his antics going even now.

Over the hours, our conversation had drifted toward the trips Cam and Micah had taken in search of their mates, and Cam was telling me about the month they'd spent in a small fishing town in India when Micah's eyes turned toward the window that faced the front of the house...and narrowed.

"Excuse me a minute."

Moving surprisingly fast, Micah walked across the room, opened the window, and grabbed something, pulling it inside.

I blinked as I realized it was a white, fluffy owl, and I remembered Micah had said he had two owl shifter brothers. Was this one of them?

"What are you doing here, Mateo? Did the dads send you to spy on us?"

Micah was silent for a moment, and I realized he was reading Mateo's answer from his mind.

Micah scoffed. "That makes it so much better. Well, if you want to meet him..." Walking over to me, Micah held the owl out with his face toward me, the owl's light blue eyes blinking at me.

"Ember, this is my troublemaker brother, Mateo. Mateo, this is my mate, Ember."

"Hello, Mateo," I greeted him with a smile, and whatever he thought in return had Micah's cheeks going red.

"I'm not telling him that!"

In answer, Mateo shifted. I jerked my eyes to the ceiling as he fell on the rug in front of me, slipping out of Micah's grip mid-change. Unlike older magical beings like dragons and phoenixes, shifters had to get naked before they shifted, or they'd end uptearing their clothes. Consequently, when they shifted back, they were always nude.

"Mateo!" Micah shouted, his voice louder than I'd ever heard it as Mateo cackled.

"I just wanted to tell you, Ember, that you look very handsome. Micah truly has the best luck. I mean, I could accept one hot mate, but two? It seems a little unfair."

"Why, thank you!" Cam said, a grin in his voice.

"Mateo, if you don't shift back and get out of here, I'll tell Papa it was you who added the tabasco sauce in his blood."

"Hey, we had a deal!" Mateo protested, then sighed. "Fine, fine. I'm leaving. But you better bring him by soon. Miles wants to meet him too, even if he wasn't willing to come with me."

"I will."

Mateo shifted and flew up into the air, taking off through the still-open window, and I finally lowered my head, my own cheeks a little red.

I wasn't a prude by any means, and I knew most shifters didn't really care about being naked, but Mateo was Micah's brother. He was family. Which made it a little awkward in my opinion.

"Well, that was exciting." Somehow, Cam always knew what to say to break any awkward silence, and my eyes flicked to him, then to an equally red-cheeked Micah, and I chuckled.

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