Twenty-Five

Kai

As I followed the three supes through the woods, I wondered if I'd made another mistake believing them.

The last time I'd trusted someone, he'd stolen my coat.

He'd been nice and kind in the beginning too. Friendly. But then as soon as he had what he wanted, he'd shown me his true colors.

All I'd wanted was to explore the world on land, and instead, I'd lost the most important thing in my life.

There was one big difference between him and these three, and that was the only detail that kept me from leaving them.

Unlike with him, I had nothing of value for these three to steal. There was no reason for them to trick me, especially with something as ridiculous as a mate bond.

A trickle at the back of my neck pulled me out of my thoughts, bringing the ache in my head to the forefront of my mind, and I wiped it off, expecting more water.

Instead, I was surprised by the red covering my fingers. Shit, I was bleeding.

Ember, who'd been walking beside me, grabbed my hand, stopping us both. A frown filled his face as he reached for the back of my head with his other hand, gently brushing my hair to the side as he searched for the injury.

"I'm okay. It doesn't even hurt. I swear," I insisted, strangely weirded out. When was the last time someone had touched me like this, with such care and gentleness? It felt foreign but so damned good.

Cam and Micah, who'd been walking in front of us, turned around when they realized we'd stopped, then made their way back to us.

"Are you hurt?" Cam asked with a frown, his eyes falling to my bloody hand.

"He has a head wound. It isn't healing."

Yeah, that would be because that bastard stole my magic. When I got my hands on him...

"I'll text Raph to come over to our place," Cam said, then smiled at me. "He's a healing mage."

I stiffened at the mention of a mage, and Micah stepped closer, taking my bloody hand in his.

"It's okay. Raphael is a good one. He left Ravenshire years ago."

"He also saved my life when I was a kid," Cam chimed in as he tapped on his phone, and I swallowed hard, nodding.

Even though I couldn't sense the mate bond they said we had, I still found myself trusting them instinctively. Part of me was afraid it would come back to bite me in the ass, but the other part of me just wanted to do as they said.

I'd never gotten along well with my own kind. I didn't know why. There weren't any major disagreements between us, and they'd never hurt me. Yet I found myself happiest in the water, alone.

When Osric had found me as he drove around on his big boat and invited to me to come visit his home on the mage island, it'd taken me a while to warm up to him, and then I'd paid for it with my coat.

But with these three, everything felt natural. Like that was the way it was supposed to be. Was this what the mate bond did?

"Here." I blinked as Cam unbuttoned the last two buttons of his shirt, then grabbed the edge and tore . Once he had a long strip of cloth, he held it out to Ember. "Tie it over the wound for now so he doesn't bleed out." Then, he grinned over at Micah. "Look, princess. We match."

Micah's eyes slid from him to his shirt that now ended just above his belly button, and he snorted. "Very fashionable."

Once Ember had tied the cloth around my head, we started walking again. In less than a minute, we stepped out of the woods and into a clearing.

On one side, docks lined the edge of the land, leading out into the river, while the other side led deeper into the town of Mistvale.

Cam and Micah headed that way, and Ember and I followed after them until they stopped in front of a small car. Cam unlocked it with a beep, and I stared at it as he opened the door.

"Uh..."

"Everything okay?" Ember asked softly, so close to me I could feel the heat coming off his body. Was that a phoenix thing? Or were land-dwellers all so warm? Osric or any of his goons certainly hadn't been warm.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I just hadn't ever been in a car before.

Ember opened the door, then waved me inside, and I carefully slid into the seat.

I knew enough to know I had to put my seatbelt on—especially now that I was practically human—but I struggled with the damned thing for so long that Ember had walked around the car, slid into his seat, and then reached over to help.

My cheeks flushed as he slid it in with a simple click, but he didn't mention my ineptitude as he slid his own seatbelt into place.

As Cam started driving, I glanced out the window, taking in the town.

The first thing I noticed was how fucking green everything was. Green and brown seemed to be the dominant colors of Mistvale, and the stores and houses popped among all the greenery, no matter what color they were.

My stomach swooped a little when Cam drove over a bump a little too fast, but other than that, it was a fairly pleasant drive.

We slowed in front of a large house, made of a mix of stone and wood, and Cam slid the car into the driveway before turning it off.

Twisting in the seat to face me, he smiled widely. "Welcome home!"

I blinked, then nodded cautiously as Ember undid his seatbelt, then mine, showing me how to do it so I'd know next time, then slid out of the car. He rushed around to my side and opened my door, but before I could assume it was because he thought I was completely incompetent, he did the same for Micah.

I gazed up at the house as Cam locked the car, then followed the others up the three steps.

The sound of a loud bark made me jump, and Ember's eyes widened.

"Oh, we didn't ask. Are you okay with dogs? And cats?"

While I'd never actually interacted with either—there weren't any in the water, and most of the ones in Ravenshire were familiars to some mage—I didn't have any strong feelings about them, so I nodded, curious to see what kind of pets they had.

Cam unlocked the door, stepped inside, and then something immediately slammed him against the wall.

My eyes widened, but then he laughed, and I realized he wasn't in danger.

"It's okay, Jodi. We're back. Did you miss us?"

As we stepped inside, I realized Jodi was huge. The top of her head reached my sternum; that's how tall she was. She was bulky as well, covered in thick muscles and white fur with black spots on it.

Her dark eyes turned to me curiously, and I smiled. "Hello."

The dog stared at me for a moment longer, then rushed at me, and it was all I could do to not fall on my ass as she jumped up to lick at my face, making me laugh.

Cam

Watching Kai with Jodi had me smiling so widely my jaw would've hurt if I was still human. And how cool of a name was Kai? He didn't even pronounce it the usual way. He said his name the way you'd pronounce 'Kite' without the 'te' at the end, with a hard e sound. It made his name sound exotic, and I wondered if it was a selkie name.

Leading the way deeper into the house, I waved Kai toward the couch, and he settled gingerly at the edge, probably worried about his wet outfit.

"Oh. You should change into some dry clothes before you catch a cold."

Kai frowned at me, then shook his head. "It's okay. I can't really—" He cut himself off with a scowl, then sighed. "Never mind. I think you're right."

"Come on then. You can try some of mine." While Kai was a few inches shorter than me, I didn't think my clothes would be too big on him. They'd certainly fit better than Ember's, and Micah's didn't seem like they'd suit his tastes. His linen shirt and regular-fit pants were pretty masculine. I'd get something from Micah's side of the closet if he asked for it.

Leaving Micah and Ember to wait for Raph—I hoped Ember's quiet comfort would help Micah relax after the whole Ravenshire revelation—I led Kai up the stairs and into the main bedroom.

While Ember hadn't officially moved in yet, he'd started staying in our bedroom with us when he stayed the night. I wondered if our moving plans would be delayed by Kai's arrival, determined not to let them. As long as nothing else happened, it was still doable.

Digging through the cupboard, I pulled out a soft flannel shirt and some sweatpants. They didn't really go together, but the sweatpants had a drawstring he'd be able to tighten if it was too loose.

"Thanks," Kai said in a soft voice as he took the clothes from me, and I pointed toward the bathroom.

"The bathroom's over there if you'd like to clean up. Take your time, okay? We'll be downstairs."

Nodding, he headed to the bathroom as I left the room and made my way downstairs to find Ember sitting on the middle of the couch with Micah curled into his right side, his arm securely wrapped around Ember's belly.

Sighing, I fell into the couch on Ember's other side, throwing my arm over Micah's as Jodi peered at us from her spot on the floor beside the couch, clearly trying to determine if there was enough space for her to squeeze in. There wasn't.

"We need a bigger couch," I grumbled as I adjusted myself in the small space, and Micah gave a startled laugh, then shot me an amused look.

" That's the first thing to pop into your head after we find our final mate?"

"What? I'm practical."

That really set him off, and Micah howled with laughter as he buried his face in Ember's chest, who shared a look with me, the corners of his eyes wrinkled with concern. Yeah, I was worried about Micah too. He never talked about Ravenshire much, and when he did, he had nothing good to say. Finding out Kai had been hurt by the same people who'd once hurt Micah must be doing a number on him.

It'd unsettled me too, and the urge I'd felt before to teach the mages of Ravenshire a lesson for what they did to Micah had only gotten stronger with this new revelation. We'd get Kai's coat back for sure, and when we did, I'd make sure to teach those assholes a lesson about what happened when they messed with people who were loved by a dragon.

Micah, Kai, Raph, Cassian, Aeron...and Fate knew how many other people had been wounded by those bigoted fools, and enough for enough. It was time they paid for all they'd done.

"Shhh, you need to calm down, Cam." Micah's voice broke me out of my revenge fantasies, and I blinked, then met his dark eyes. "You can fantasize about avenging our honor later. Right now, Kai needs us to be calm and trustworthy. He can't sense the mate bond, which means we have to win his heart the old-fashioned way. Are you up for that?"

My meandering thoughts hadn't gotten that far yet, but he was right. While getting Kai's coat back was a priority, so was winning his heart and proving to him that we were his mates and only wanted the best for him.

Things had slotted in easily with Ember, but Kai was going to be a challenge. I could already tell. While he'd accepted our claims, he'd done it with the resignation of someone out of options. We'd need to prove ourselves to him, and break down whatever walls he'd built around himself after being betrayed by the mage.

It wouldn't be easy, and it might take time, but I was ready. "I am," I answered out loud, even though I knew Micah had witnessed my whole thought process. Still, he smiled warmly at me, moving his arm to squeeze my elbow.

"Good."

Ember sighed softly as he tightened his hold around us, and I was just about to sink into the cuddle when there was a knock at the door. It opened before I could get up, and I realized I'd forgotten to lock it. A lock wouldn't keep out anyone who could actually hurt us, so I usually just bothered out of habit.

Then again, Kai was vulnerable, so I needed to do better.

"Where are my favorite nephews?"

I grinned as Raphael stepped into the living room, leaving the couch to give him a tight hug. He patted my back then pulled back, his green-brown eyes scanning my face as he impatiently tucked his loose blond hair behind his ears. "Are you okay? You said you needed my healing magic."

In my hurry, I hadn't really explained the situation to Raph, and I took his arm, leading him to an armchair.

Once he was seated, I spoke. "We found our final mate. He's a selkie, and he's hurt."

Raphael's eyes filled with worry. "Is it bad? It must be if you need me."

"It's not bad," I said hesitantly, then added, "Someone stole his coat, so his magic is on the fritz. He can't heal himself."

"Oh! I'll do my best then, but you know as well as I do that my surface healing is a bit... finicky."

Years ago, Raphael had left Ravenshire after decades of verbal abuse from his parents because of his 'faulty' magic.

It was only later that he'd realized his magic wasn't faulty, just different. All he'd needed was acceptance and some space to figure that out, something he'd never been afforded by his family.

Since then, regular practice had helped him bridge the gap between his magic and the expected healing magic, and he could repair wounds and injuries...most of the time.

"Just do your best."

I glanced up as I heard footsteps on the stairs, and hoped Kai would accept my assurance that Raph wouldn't harm him, that he was one of the good ones.