Fourteen

Cam

Everything happened so fast.

I spotted the supe hurtling toward us, and my only thought was to keep Micah safe. Then the supe crashed into the ground, and the sky started rumbling—and where the fuck did DD come from?—and then I had only a moment to see the fair-skinned, bulky AF dude lying there before I felt a bolt of pure lightning headed straight for him.

DD really needed to chill.

I stepped between them without a thought, making sure to tell Micah why so he could pass the message along. I was hoping the lightning wouldn't hurt me since I was DD's son and all.

I was wrong.

Yikes, that hurt. It would've probably hurt our mate a lot worse, though, so I took it with a low growl, then turned around to growl at DD just in case Micah hadn't managed to tell him to stop yet.

DD's eyes widened, and then Micah told him what I'd told him, his voice wavering just a little. Shit. Micah hadn't wanted to meet our mates just yet, but it seemed like Fate had other plans.

I shifted back to my human form, then called out to Micah. "Come here!"

Carefully, I kneeled at the edge of the blackened circle our mate was lying in. He wasn't naked, which meant that he wasn't a shifter. Whatever other form he had, it was like mine. A magical form instead of a physical one that he could shift in and out of without losing his clothes.

He was unconscious, but his chest moved up and down steadily, which was good.

Like I'd noticed earlier, he was big. He was most definitely taller than us, probably even taller than Cassian, and bulkier too. The word Daddy drifted through my mind, and Micah shot me a flushed-cheeked, wide-eyed look, making me grin.

"We need to get him inside," I murmured, then heard footsteps approaching. I shot to my feet and whirled around, my dragon just under the surface in case I needed to defend either of my mates again.

DD raised his palms in surrender, as if he could sense how close I was to shifting. "It's okay, Cam. I'm under control now."

I scanned his face, making sure he wasn't just saying it to make me feel better, then nodded.

"So that's him," DD said, and both he and Dad peered down at our mate, curiosity sparking in their eyes.

"Yeah, we need to get him inside."

"Of course." DD took a few steps back without offering help. Smart man. I didn't think I would be able to let anyone touch either of my mates right then. My protective instincts were in hyper-mode. Wait. Was this how DD felt every day these days? No wonder he had so little control.

"I haven't seen a phoenix in a long time," he added in a low voice, probably talking to Dad.

Our new mate was a phoenix. That was...interesting. Micah would kill me for this comparison, but it felt like someone had taken bits of Cassian and sprinkled it into bits of DD to create our mate. He had fire power, he looked like a mountain man, he could fly, and he was from an older species of supes...need I go on?

"No, please stop," Micah said in a strained voice, and I huffed out a laugh as I leaned down and picked the phoenix dude up. He wasn't light by any means, but I was a dragon.

I carried him inside, Micah close at my heels, and I was just laying him on the couch when his eyes flashed open, bright blues the shade of the hottest flames gazing up at me.

I backed away quickly just in case he freaked out at the unfamiliar surroundings—not that I would blame him. I'd already gotten fried by lightning. I wasn't interested in tasting flames too.

He sat up, careful blue eyes scanning his surroundings. His gaze got stuck on DD for a beat before returning to me and Micah. He tilted his head, examining us carefully, before his lips curved up in a small smile.

"Hello. I apologize for the scare."

I blinked, then grinned. Holy fuck, he was old as dirt too, wasn't he?

Cam! Micah hissed in my mind, as if he wasn't the only one who could hear my mental commentary.

"Hey. I'm Cam, and this is Micah, and I guess you're our mate," I introduced, just in case he thought we didn't know.

His smile widened, and he dipped his head in a shallow bow. Yep, very old. "It's a great pleasure to meet you. I'm Ember."

A fitting name for a phoenix, I mused, then remembered my dads were still here.

"Oh! And these are my dads, Raiden and William," I said, pointing to each of them.

Just then, the portal flickered again, and Micah's dads stepped through, their eyes sharp as they scanned the room.

Gus was in front of us a second later, his eyes scanning us both. "Are you okay? We got a text from Will saying there was an intruder."

"Ah, that would be me," Ember said with a sheepish smile as he rose to his feet.

"He's our mate," Micah told his father, and Gus's eyes widened before he turned to Ember.

He introduced himself to Cass and Gus, and Micah introduced them, and then Micah and I quickly shooed our dads away, promising them we'd bring Ember by for dinner and a proper conversation later.

It was obvious none of the dads wanted to go, but they still relented, which I was grateful for. Our mate had just crash-landed into our lives, and we needed a moment to process that, especially Micah.

Once they were gone and the portal had disappeared, we returned back to the living room, where Ember sat patiently on the couch. He glanced up as we walked in, his eyes flicking from me to Micah and back, and for the very first time in my life, I found myself unsure of what to say.

Micah fidgeted beside me, and I realized that I needed to say something, if only so Micah wouldn't get anxious.

So, I settled on the loveseat across the table from Ember, pulling Micah in beside me. "So...what happened?"

Ember

Today was the luckiest day of my life.

It'd started off like any other, and since the end of my cycle was less than a year away, I'd been hoping for a normal, trouble-free day. I'd taken to the skies to search for a place I could hide out in when the time came, but within an hour of taking flight, I'd felt the symptoms starting.

They were usually weeks or months apart, but the first one was always worse, in part because it was a surprise.

I'd lost control of my flight as my wings erupted in harmless—to me—flames, and I'd found myself falling. I wasn't sure if Fate had intended for me to land where I did, or if it was a coincidence, but I'd somehow landed in the backyard of my mates. Mates .

They were both stunning, a dragon and a mage of some sort, and I couldn't wait to get to know them better.

Cam, the dragon and the more talkative of the two, with beautiful green eyes and short black hair, settled on the couch, pulling Micah with him.

Micah was stunning, with dark brown eyes that seemed to peer into my soul, dark hair that fell over them, and a slim, delicate figure clad in a pink crop top and jean shorts that made me want to hold him close and protect him.

"So...what happened?" Cam asked, and I explained everything to them. They listened intently, without interrupting, and were quiet once I'd finished my retelling of today's events.

"What's a cycle?" Cam asked, and I blinked. Of course. Phoenixes weren't as well known these days, so I should've expected he might not know.

While I was grateful to have found them, I couldn't help wondering if this was the right time. Why couldn't I have found them after this cycle?

"Do you know the tale of the phoenix-kind?"

Cam pursed his lips in thought, but it was Micah who answered my question, his voice soft and hesitant.

"The one about being reborn from ashes?"

I smiled widely, giving him an appreciative look that made him blush. He was a sweet one, wasn't he? Though I sensed some steel under that sweet exterior, I had a feeling I'd need to get to know him before getting to see that side of him. "Yes, exactly. Every hundred years, a phoenix turns to ash and is then reborn. My hundred years will end in less than a year, but the warning signs have already started, as you saw today."

"Does it hurt?" Micah asked, his brows furrowing, and my smile gentled.

"No, not really. The worst part, at least for me, is the six months afterward that it takes me to, well, grow back up."

I held my breath at the admission, wondering how they'd feel about it. I'd never spent my rebirth with anyone else, and if they felt uncomfortable about it, I'd stay away this time too. I was used to it.

"So you turn into a baby when you're reborn?" Cam asked, his eyes wide, and I couldn't tell how he felt about it.

"I do. I grow up a lot faster than a human child. It takes me six months to reach full maturity, but I can imagine how that might feel...strange to you."

"Are you kidding? It sounds amazing." Micah nodded along with Cam's assertion, and I relaxed a little.

I was surprised to be talking about this so soon after meeting them, but I supposed it was good to get it out of the way.

"Wait. Where do you live right now?"

Micah placed a hand on Cam's knee, leaning forward a little. "Before you answer, would you like something to drink? Or eat?"

Cam blinked, then nodded encouragingly, and I was fascinated by how close they were. They were completely in sync. It was rare to find a pair—even a fated pair—that was so close. I wondered how long they'd been together. Their parents seem to live nearby, and I'd sensed Raiden's ward over this whole town on my way down. Had they grown up together?

"Kind of. I've known Cam since I was ten or so," Micah said, and then the color disappeared from his cheeks as his eyes went wide.

Cam took his hand in his, giving it a squeeze as he smiled at me. "Micah is a telepath."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to." The fear in his voice made my heart ache, and I wondered if someone had made him feel bad about his powers before.

"It's okay. I don't mind. I do not wish to hide anything from either of you."

Cam smiled, the look on his face telling me I'd said the right thing.

Micah stared at me like he didn't believe me, but then nodded. Remembering his earlier question, I said, "I wouldn't mind a glass of water."

"Of course," Micah mumbled before racing out of the room, and my eyes slid back to Cam. I was curious about Micah's fears, but I didn't want to talk about him behind his back.

Cam didn't seem to have such a problem. "He's not a big fan of his powers," he admitted, his lips turning down in a frown. "They've caused him a lot of trouble, not that it was in any way his fault."

I nodded, not wanting to pry. I wanted to get to know these two, yes, but slowly. Properly.

When Micah came back with the water, I took the glass from him, our fingers brushing. Sparks flew up my arm at the contact, and Micah's deep brown eyes flashed to mine, as if he'd felt it too.

We gazed at each other for a moment before he retreated, and I took a sip of water as I watched him settle back beside Cam.

"To answer your earlier question, Cam, I have a place a few towns over."

"A few towns over," Cam mumbled, shaking his head. "Have you lived there long?"

"Not long, no," I said, squinting as I tried to recall. "Twenty years, give or take."

Cam sputtered, and a small smile curled Micah's lips.

"What? What is it?"

"First of all," Cam said, leaning forward. "Twenty years is not 'not long.' I mean, we were babies twenty years ago."

That was something I'd prefer not to think about.

Micah snorted, and I wondered if he'd caught my stray thought or if he was amused by Cam's declaration.

"Second of all, Micah and I spent the last few years roaming the world in the hopes of stumbling upon our mates, and now you're telling us you've been just a few hundred miles away all this time."

I shook my head in wonder, but then something he'd said repeated in my mind, and my brows shot up. "Did you say mates ?"

"Uh, yeah. We have one more mate somewhere out there."

Another mate? Wow. Here I'd started to wonder if I would ever find my mate at all...

"That's wonderful," I said, and Cam grinned, while Micah gave a reluctant smile. I got the feeling he wasn't as enthused about the idea as Cam.

We talked for a while after, but then I decided it was time to go. I'd only planned for this to be a short flight, and I most definitely hadn't expected to find my mates. While I wanted to stay and spend some more time with my mates, I had to get back to Jodi. She hated being alone for too long, and I hated making her sad.

"I should be leaving," I said, and Cam blinked, like I'd said something unexpected.

"What?"

"He has a home, Cam," Micah reminded him, and Cam stared at him as if he couldn't understand what he'd said. Had he expected I'd just stay?