Page 97 of Cam's Treasure

"Go on," Cam urged, clearly curious about what I wanted to say.

"What if instead of us having to leave, we made it so humans wouldn't want to stay for too long? This is a tourist town, right? We could lean into that, make it even more touristy, maybe even use magic in explainable ways. So a lot of humans would visit, but none would stay. Since Raiden already owns most of the town, it'd be easy to make sure humans don't settle here unless we want them to."

There was a moment of silence, and I worried I'd overstepped, but then Cam grabbed me and pulled me into a kiss.

When he pulled back, his eyes were sparkling, his lips spread in a wide grin. "That is a marvelous idea!"

"Oh no," Micah muttered behind him, and I had a feeling I'd done something I shouldn't have.

Thirty-Nine

Micah

Cam was in love with the idea of taking control of the tourism aspect of Mistvale. Until now, Raiden had mostly let the humans handle it, and our clan had acted like nothing more than the residents of this town. But Kai's idea had firmly embedded itself in Cam's mind, and it was running at overdrive as he came up with more and more ridiculous ideas. I had a feeling Cam had just found his calling, and I was a little terrified, to be frank.

"How about we go to TOSS before heading home?" I suggested, pulling Cam away from his thoughts for a moment. TOSS, short for The One Stop Shops, was a big shopping center that housed everything from bakeries and restaurants to clothing and grocery stores. The best thing was Mistvale didn't have chain stores, so most of those shops were locally owned and run. Over the years, some places had closed or changedownership when Raiden convinced—i.e. paid them a shit-ton of money—the human owners to sell, but it had more or less stayed the same.

"Wanna go toWish For It?" he asked knowingly, and I shrugged, biting back a smile.

Kezan had offered me my job at the clothing store back when we first got home, which I'd been hesitant to accept before because of all the things happening in our lives, but now...

"I was thinking of returning to work," I said, then explained the details to Kai and Ember.

"It sounds like you really liked your job," Kai said with a smile, his dark eyes warm as he gazed at me.

"If it makes you happy, you should take it up again," Ember agreed, and I smiled at them both, then at Cam, who was nodding emphatically.

So we went toWish For It,and Kezan welcomed me back with a hug, suggesting I return to work starting next Monday. I got the feeling he was happy to finally have someone he trusted around the store again, and I was glad I'd be able to lessen his workload some. His mate, a human named Ezra, worked for Cam's dad, and while we'd kept in contact through the clan parties and random work events, I was excited I'd get to see him more regularly now.

We ended up doing some shopping as well—you could never have too many good clothes—and then we had some tea and pastries atShe Bakes, She Brews.

By the time we left TOSS, the sun had set, and a light sprinkle of rain had started up, making me smile. I was quite good at reading Raiden's mood through the weather now, and a light rain like this meant he was content and at peace. I wondered if he and William were curled up around their eggs. I couldn't wait for them to hatch and for us to have new siblings to spoil.

"I'm really glad I ended up smacking my head into that rock," Kai mused, a happiness in his voice that I hoped would stay there forever.

"I'm glad I crashed into your backyard as well," Ember added, a touch of humor in his voice, and Cam started laughing as I tried not to grin.

"I just realized how violently you both entered our lives. Like, why?" Cam asked, then started laughing again, and this time I couldn't stop myself from chuckling along. Soon enough, the four of us were laughing like maniacs in the middle of the street.

"Maybe Fate thought we wouldn't notice otherwise?" I suggested, and Cam narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"Well, we did miss the fact that Ember was living just a few towns over all our lives."

"That's true. Maybe Fate was waiting for you to find him, but then when you didn't, she basically picked Ember up and threw him at you," Kai said with a grin, and I rolled my eyes.

"I wish she'd found a less violent way to do that," Ember grumbled, and I smiled as I gave him a hug.

"Aww, it wasn't that bad," Cam assured him, patting his shoulder, and Ember huffed, smiling softly.

"It wasn't bad at all."

Cam grinned, pleased by Ember's sappy reply, and then we started walking again.

By the time we arrived home, we were soaked through, and Jodi was demanding where we'd been and why we got to play in the rain and she didn't. Not that I could read animal thoughts, but that's what it felt like her eyes were saying as she jumped between us.

We couldn't catch a cold, but nobody liked being in wet clothes, so we quickly changed, and then decided we'd order dinner in, much to Ember's annoyance.

Cam convinced him with a few strategic kisses, though, and then we all curled up on the couch under a blanket, with me and Kai in the middle, and Ember behind me while Cam lay on Kai's other side.

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