Eleven

Cam

I groaned loudly as I woke up, squeezing Micah to me when I felt him stir. Why did morning have to come so early?

Burying my face in Micah's silky hair, I let my eyes fall shut again, breathing him in as sleep tugged at me, wanting me to return to the world of dreams.

Then again, my life felt like a dream some days even when I was awake, so who knew? Maybe this was a dream.

Micah chuckled, and I grinned into his hair, knowing he'd heard my thoughts. Micah's shields were usually down first thing in the morning, which was probably why he woke up fully so much quicker than me. The moment he was awake, his mind was full of voices from everyone in the vicinity. How could he enjoy the sleepy haze in that situation?

"I can still feel it. All I have to do is focus on your mind alone," Micah said softly, pulling back to glance up at me. "You help drown out all the other voices."

Leaning down, I pressed my lips to his, caressing his soft ones with mine. I didn't deepen the kiss since we both needed to brush our teeth, but just having Micah close, feeling him against me was more than enough to make my heart feel full.

"Come on, let's get cleaned up. We're moving into our new place today, remember?"

Excitement filled me at the reminder, and I sat upright, pulling Micah with me. "Right, right! We should hurry!"

Micah chuckled as he followed me out of bed, and we quickly brushed our teeth and showered before making our way downstairs.

"Your breakfast is keeping warm in the microwave," DD said, and we plated up the bacon and eggs, eating quickly as I started making a mental list—that I knew Micah was listening to—of all the things we needed to take.

"Do you think we can borrow Caleb's truck?" While I could fly all our stuff—or even carry it, though it would certainly look weird—to our place, DD preferred it if I didn't soar around in my dragon form too close to the ground. While my shields were strong, they weren't perfect, and sometimes, a human might catch sight of something they shouldn't.

"Yeah, I'm sure he won't mind, as long as he doesn't need it today."

Caleb was a wolf shifter that I adored pranking, and he also worked as a handyman, driving all over town for jobs. He was a big, grumpy dude who was sweet like sugar when Noel—his mate—was around.

After breakfast, Micah left for his house to pack up our stuff there, and I did the same here. DD helped—Dad left for work after promising to come visit us at our new place in the evening— while suggesting I pack every other thing in the house—"in case you need it"—like I was moving across the ocean instead of just a few streets over. It was sweet, but also a little annoying.

In the end, I asked DD if he could maybe make us some food to take over since it'd take us some time to get the kitchen stocked, and he was only too happy to do it.

While Amelia also spent a lot of time away from the house, she always came back, so I thought DD might be feeling a bit off since it was the first time one of his kids was 'leaving the nest,' so to speak. Add in the fact that he and Dad had eggs that would be hatching in just over a year, and his parental instincts must have been on overdrive.

It took me a few hours to pack up my room, and by the time I was done, I had six big boxes, a few duffle bags, and two luggage carriers full of our stuff. It hadn't looked like I had much stuff when it was spread all over the room, but now, all packed up, I couldn't believe how many belongings I'd accumulated over the years.

Micah showed up just before lunch, and I pulled him into a hug the moment he stepped through the doorway. Growing up together, we'd rarely spent more than a day or two apart, and it might've resulted in a little codependency, not that I minded. I never planned on being apart from Micah for any reason, so it didn't matter if we were too attached to each other.

"How did it go?"

"How do we have this much stuff? Where did it all even come from?" I whined, making Micah chuckle.

"Well, you're a dragon, Cam. And dragons hoard things."

I rolled my eyes at his matter-of-fact tone, and he grinned cheekily.

"It's a good thing our new house is so big."

"Yeah," I agreed, then added, "Then again, we will be sharing the place with two more people someday, and it probably won't feel that large then."

Micah was silent for a moment before agreeing softly, and there was that flicker of something off again. I couldn't quite put my finger on what exactly it was, but I was starting to think it had something to do with our other mates. Was Micah tired of waiting for them? Was he sad that all our trips had been for nothing? But he'd talk to me if that was the case, right? We didn't keep things from each other. I was pretty proud of our communication skills generally, but I was starting to wonder if maybe I thought we were better at it than we actually were.

"Hey, kids. Will you join us for lunch?" DD asked on his way to the kitchen, and Micah nodded quickly, following after him as I trailed behind, worry churning in my gut.

After lunch, I flew over to the packland to borrow Caleb's truck, and then we spent the next few hours moving everything to our new place.

When we were done, I drove the truck back to the packland, and then Rhiannon opened a portal for me so I could get home quicker, for which I gave her a tight hug, knowing how taxing it was.

As I stepped into our new living room, I looked around the place as my chest filled with happiness. Micah and I finally had a home of our own, and it was everything I could've ever dreamed of.

Micah

Hours later, we were in bed.

We'd unpacked some stuff, then eaten some of the dinner Raiden had packed us before retreating to our bedroom.

Our bedroom . I loved that term. For so long, it'd either been 'Cam's bedroom' or 'Micah's bedroom,' but finally, finally it was our bedroom.

Not for long , a voice in my head reminded. Soon, you'll have to share it with two strangers. Two people who Cam might love more than you .

Scrunching my eyes shut and trying my best to ignore that, I turned on my side, shifting closer to Cam.

He wrapped an arm around me instantly, his nose nuzzling mine as he pulled me close.

"Okay?"

I nodded, and Cam sighed, but it wasn't one of his usual sighs of contentment. No, he sounded frustrated, and I wondered if I'd done something wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm worried."

I frowned, gazing into his green eyes as I wondered what exactly he was worried about. I was tempted to take a peek into his mind, but since we were talking about it, I refrained. Cam was never shy with his words, so if there was something on his mind, I was sure he would share it.

"About what?"

Cam gazed at me, his eyes boring into me as if he was the one with telepathic powers. "You."

I gave a soft laugh, raising a brow at him. "Why are you worried about me? I'm fine."

Cam narrowed his eyes at that, and sat up in bed, crossing his legs. Blinking in surprise, I followed suit as his jaw flexed. Was he... angry?

"Don't lie to me, Micah."

I stared at him for a moment, stunned. Then, I felt offended.

"I'm not lying. Why would I?"

Cam shook his head, a growl twisting his lips. "I don't know, but I do know something's not right. Talk to me, Micah, please."

I can't read your mind , he added as a thought, and I scowled. Did he think I enjoyed reading his and everyone else's thoughts? That having a dozen voices in my head the moment I woke up was fun ?

In a distant part of my mind, I knew that my anger was not justified. I was using it as a shield to keep from admitting that Cam was right, that there was something wrong with me.

Why else wouldn't I be excited about finding our other two mates? Why else would I have felt relieved when we didn't find them instead of disappointed like Cam, the way a normal person would?

But I didn't want to admit that to Cam, didn't want to tell him that there was something broken in me. That I wanted to keep him all to myself and I was so fucking scared that he wouldn't want me anymore once he found our other mates.

"There's nothing to talk about." My voice was sharp, and Cam flinched as if I'd hit him. I'd never so much as raised my voice at Cam in all the years we'd known each other. Guilt and disgust at myself filled me as I stared at Cam's pained face, and I scrambled out of bed, unable to bear it a second longer.

I mumbled something about needing air before rushing out of the room, and then I just stood outside the door, unable to decide where to go.

I wanted to be away from that look on Cam's face, but I also didn't want to go too far.

As if knowing exactly what I needed—which she probably did, since she was my familiar—Saaya slinked out of the shadows with a soft meow, wrapped her tail around my ankle, and transported me through the shadows.

Finding myself in the large backyard of our new house, I trudged down the porch and walked over to the pond, settling on one of the large rocks at its edge and burying my face in my palms.

What the hell was wrong with me? How could I have talked to Cam that way?

It was our first night in our new home. We should've been spending it wrapped up in each other, not fighting.

No wonder Cam was so excited to meet our other mates. He was probably tired of dealing with me.

Even though Cam said he didn't mind me listening to his thoughts, there was no way that was true. Who in their right mind would be okay with someone else poking around in their head? He probably only said it so I wouldn't worry, because he was a good man.

At one point or another, everyone got tired of dealing with me. My birth parents had, and so had everyone else in Ravenshire.

Dad and Papa loved me, but even they had wished sometimes that I couldn't do what I did. They'd never made me feel unwanted, not like my birth parents had, but I knew things would be easier if I didn't have this wretched magic.

I was so lost in thought that I didn't hear Cam until large, leathery wings wrapped around me, tucking me in against his huge body as he rested his head on top of mine. He must've been kneeling on the ground to be able to reach me like that.

He rumbled softly, sending vibrations through my whole body, and I couldn't help sinking into his warm hold.

I'm sorry , Cam thought, and the regret he felt almost choked me.

I scoffed, but it came out closer to a sniffle. "Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who snapped at you for no reason."

I've known something's on your mind since we went on our trip, but I kept ignoring it. I'm sorry I didn't ask before. Please, will you tell me what's wrong?

I sighed, knowing I couldn't keep my fears to myself any longer.

If I had to tell Cam, this was the best way to do it. He was in his dragon form, so I wouldn't have to see his reactions on his face. Having his wings wrapped around me made me feel secure, and that helped me find the words too.

"I'm scared," I confessed. "Actually, I'm terrified."

Cam's wings tightened around me in reaction, and I leaned harder into his solid body.

What's frightening you, Micah? Tell me, and I'll destroy it, whatever it is .

I chuckled softly, his solemn promise relieving some of the tightness in my chest. "It's not something you can destroy, Cam. And it's a stupid fear."

Cam didn't say or think anything, waiting for me to continue.

"I'm scared of finding our other mates."