Three

Cam

Before we headed to bed, I took a selfie of all of us—even Saaya, who only stayed because of Micah's hand on her back—and sent it to the clan's group chat.

Me : We're back, bitches. And we're staying.

The group was silent for a few moments, and then our phones started buzzing and pinging all at once, so much so that Saaya hissed at everything before quickly disappearing into the shadows.

Chuckling to myself, I pulled up the group chat as we settled into bed. Micah and I were in his bed, while Mateo, Miles, and Ames were on the mattresses on the floor.

As expected, the first text was from my favorite Mistvaler outside my immediate family.

Uncle Raph : My babies! You're back! Come visit your uncle!

Uncle Jai : It's almost midnight, angel. They're probably tired.

Uncle Jai : You have to come for breakfast tomorrow, though. Like old times.

I glanced over at Micah, who was reading the chats with me, and he nodded, making me grin.

Me : We'll be there. Will you make us dosas?

Uncle Jai : You bet.

Dean : Whatever you do, don't eat the pancakes Dad makes.

Uncle Raph : Hey! They weren't that bad!

Dean, Raphael and Jai's youngest, sent a gif of a little girl expertly rolling her eyes, making me chuckle. Dean would be eighteen soon, if my math was right. It'd been a while since I'd seen him, or his siblings Finn and Penny, and I was looking forward to it. It'd been way too long.

Me : Thanks for the tip, Dean!

Then, the best elf in the world popped into the chat, and just seeing his name made me miss him something fierce.

Noel : Cam and Micah are back? This deserves a celebration! Let's set a date for a Mistvale-clan style party!

A Mistvale party was basically all of us gathering at the packland and eating a ton of food—or blood, in Gus and Niall's cases—and socializing. I loved those parties, because I got to see all my favorite people in the world in one place. It was utterly chaotic, which just made it better.

Me : Yes, please. That would be awesome!

Noel : We need to set a date, but don't worry. I'll figure it out. I'm so happy you're back, kiddos.

Me : Us too. It's good to be home.

Micah pressed a kiss to my neck, snuggling closer as he tightened his arm around my middle.

"I'm glad we're home too." His voice was soft as he spoke, and I thought I caught an edge of something in his voice, but before I could ask him about it, he continued speaking. "I want to see everyone, which is saying something. It's been too long."

"Yeah. Don't worry—we'll make time for everyone."

Micah hummed happily, and I sent a text in the group saying I was heading to bed and that we'd see everyone soon.

Then, I placed my phone on the nightstand beside Micah's and turned on my side so I could pull him closer. Micah stuck his head under my chin, his nose and lips pressing against my chest. I ran my fingers through his silky hair, and within minutes, he was asleep.

I smiled down at him, at his slightly parted pink lips and slowly fluttering lashes, and pressed a kiss into his hair before letting my own eyes fall shut.

It felt good to fall asleep in a familiar bed, in a room that was as much mine as it was Micah's after all these years of sharing it. It felt good to be home .

We woke to rain pounding on the windows, and the sun shining through the droplets. The sight made me grin, because in Mistvale, rain wasn't just rain.

This rain meant that DD, or Raiden Hawthorne, as he was known by everyone else, was especially happy today, and I had a feeling that had something to do with the fact that his favorite—and only—son was back.

DD was one of the oldest dragons alive. Every dragon had a certain type of power. DD was a storm dragon, and so his emotions affected the weather of the area around him. According to him, there were only four other dragons out there other than our family, and most of them were as old as him.

When DD had settled down with my father around fourteen years ago, he'd 'claimed' the town as his. He didn't have any legal ownership of the town as a whole—only the houses and businesses he'd bought—but in the supernatural world, Mistvale was his domain. Any supe who came to Mistvale knew who the 'boss' was, and they had to abide by DD's rules if they wanted to stay. No one wanted an angry dragon as old as DD as an enemy.

When I'd first found out DD and Dad were mates, I'd done everything in my power to get them together with Raphael's help. I'd wanted Dad to be happy, and nine-year-old me had been ecstatic to have a dragon as my second dad.

But over the years, DD had become as much of a father to me as Dad was. I even had his DNA—or his magic, I supposed—that allowed me to turn into an amazing dragon. While I still hadn't discovered exactly what type of dragon I was since every dragon found their powers at different ages, that magic had allowed me to change my body into the form it was supposed to be, and for that I was very grateful. I knew how much struggle many trans people had to face to be true to themselves, and I felt lucky to have DD and such an accepting family.

DD was as much a part of me now as my dad and mom, and I loved him just as much, maybe even more than my mom, since I barely remembered her now.

"Looks like someone's having a good day," Micah mumbled as he blinked his eyes open, the sound of the pattering rain registering before he was fully awake. Or maybe he was reading my thoughts and talking about me.

"Yep." Glancing over at the clock, I patted his ass. "Come on, up you go. We need to get to Raph's."

Yawning, Micah sat up and stretched his arms above his head. My eyes flicked to the strip of skin revealed at his belly as the loose, baby pink shirt rode up, and I debated over the merits of pouncing on him. We could afford to be a little late, right?

"Nope!" Micah said, making me realize I'd sent that thought down our link. I still wasn't an expert at using the link, not that I ever cared about Micah reading my thoughts. There was nothing in my mind that I wasn't willing to say out loud, especially to Micah. Sure, it made it difficult to surprise him, but that was why I had a clan full of people who were always happy to help. "We're going to freshen up and get there on time."

Before I could stop him, he slid out of bed, and I sighed as I sat upright, rubbing my face before following after him into the bathroom. Our siblings were already up, and I could hear them downstairs.

Throwing my arms around Micah, I hugged him from behind, resting my chin on his shoulder as he brushed his teeth. He eyed me in the mirror, and then spoke through the link. You're especially clingy today. Everything okay?

Smiling, I squeezed him even tighter, sliding my nose over the side of his neck and breathing in his scent. Can't I just want to be close to my sweet mate?

Micah raised a brow at me in the mirror, as if he doubted my cheesy words. Granted, while I loved touching Micah in every possible way, I didn't usually put my love for him in words. It was another reason I was glad he could read my thoughts, because then he could see exactly how much I loved him without me having to spell it out.

Sighing, I dragged in a deep breath of his scent before meeting his eyes in the mirror. I honestly don't know. I just want to be close to you. My dragon's feeling a little antsy .

Spitting into the sink, he finished brushing his teeth before turning around and pulling me into his arms. He pressed a chaste kiss to my lips, but didn't deepen it since I had yet to brush my teeth, his deep brown eyes peering into mine. "I guess we can hug for a little bit."

Grinning, I tucked my head against his shoulder, sighing happily as I leaned against him, grateful that we were practically the same height. There was no better place in the world than right here in my mate's arms.

Micah made a choked sound, and I wondered if he'd read my thoughts. Smiling, I pressed a kiss against his neck, then snuck my tongue out for a little lick. My dragon side loved tasting his skin, loved leaving hints of my scent on his body so everyone would know he was mine. Dragons could be a possessive sort, and I'd been protective of those I considered mine even when I was human.

"Okay, I'll brush my teeth now."

Micah hung around the bedroom while I freshened up, and then we got dressed. Our clothes were split between both our homes so we'd always have something to wear no matter which house we were in, and I couldn't quite pull my gaze away from Micah as I watched him slide into jeans that clung to his thighs, and a baby blue crop top that ended just above his belly button, showing off the piercing he'd gotten in Madrid.

When he glanced up, our gazes caught, and he sucked in a breath at whatever look was on my face, a light blush rushing up his neck. Then, he shook his head and turned his back on me. A soft grunt slipped past my lips at the sight of his ass, and I resisted the temptation to close the distance between us and palm them because I really did want to see Raph and everyone.

Instead, I focused on dressing up quickly, pulling on the first shirt I found and pairing it with loose-fit jeans, then grabbed our phones, putting them both in my pockets since I knew there was no space in his jeans.

Micah took my hand in his as we headed downstairs, and we peeked into the kitchen on our way out to tell the dads we wouldn't be having breakfast here. Since they were in the group chat too, they already knew, and they waved us off with a smile, but not before Gus and Mateo spent five whole minutes admiring Micah's new piercing, much to his embarrassment.

"Why you're surprised after all these years is what I don't get," I said as we walked the few blocks to Jai and Raphael's townhouse, the rain still pattering away on our umbrella. "You do remember Gus and Cass took you shopping when you first told them you wanted to try femme stuff, right?"

"I know! It just felt weird to have my father and brother staring at my belly button so intently," he said with flushed cheeks, making me chuckle. God, he could be so adorable sometimes.

"Well, would it make you feel better if I stared intensely at your belly button?" My gaze slid to the piercing as I spoke, and Micah hissed much like Saaya before slapping his palm over his belly.

"Shut up!" he grumbled, muttering under his breath about how he never should've listened to me. Sure, I'd been the one who suggested he might like it, and I knew that he did. He was just embarrassed about all the attention he was getting because of it.

Sometimes, Micah still thought he wasn't the sexy-as-sin man I knew him to be, so I had to do things like this to make him realize it. Apparently, my compliments didn't count because I was his mate, so I had to make sure everyone else complimented him too. I'd do anything for him, and sometimes, I didn't think he knew that. I wished I could put my feelings into words so he'd know, but I just didn't feel like words were enough. So instead, I tried my best to show him.

Reaching Raph's place, I closed the umbrella as Micah knocked on the door, and the sound of familiar barking filled the air. Oof, I'd even missed Padfoot, their adorable gray husky, and Neya, Raphael's squirrel familiar.

I used to have a dog when I was younger, but after he got into a car accident, I couldn't bring myself to adopt another pet, especially because DD had blamed himself for a while after, even though it hadn't been his fault.

Maybe once we had our own house, we could adopt a pet together, one that wouldn't hate me the way Saaya did.

The door opened and Finn grinned at us, opening it wider so we could get inside. "It's good to see you, guys," he said as he pushed his glasses up, and I patted his shoulder as we walked inside.

On Finn's eighteenth birthday, he'd discovered what he was when he'd accidentally turned Jai to stone. Raphael had called DD in a panic, and DD had deduced that Finn, Penny, and Dean were a being that everyone had thought to be extinct. They were basilisks, able to turn anyone into stone for a while simply by looking at them. It was a defense mechanism, and DD and Rhiannon—the clan warlock—had made the glasses to nullify the effects of their eyes until they learned to master their magic. While Penny had already stopped using her glasses, Finn still wore his, even though I was sure he was more than adept at controlling his powers. I had a feeling turning Jai to stone had affected him hard, and it'd take him time before he felt truly comfortable.

"My babies!" Raphael shouted as he ran across the living room and threw his arms around us, pulling us into a tight hug. "I missed you so much."

"I swear he loves those two more than us," Finn joked, and I smiled because I was glad he could joke about it now. I remembered the early days when they'd first joined the clan, when Finn had been so afraid he and his siblings wouldn't be accepted here, wouldn't be wanted.

"Finn!" Penny, his younger sister said, and I heard a smack that I guessed was her smacking him in admonishment. Finn was twenty-six while Penny was twenty-two, and they both shared the same green eyes and red hair, though Finn's was darker with brown mixed in, while Penny's long hair was the blazing red of flames.

"Come on in. Jai's making the dosas now," Raph said, dragging us inside without letting us go, his arms thrown over both our shoulders as Padfoot danced in front of us, eager to say hello. The dog was over fifteen years old, and I wondered if Raph's magic was what kept him looking so young and healthy.

Jai smiled at us as we stepped into the kitchen, and we hurried over to give him a hug. Dean was helping him with the food, and his lips split into a wide grin as he waved a spatula at us.

"Sit, sit. The food's almost ready."

The scent of coconut chutney and hot sambhar filled the air, and my stomach growled loudly, making everyone laugh. I grinned unrepentantly as I started serving us the chutney and sambhar while Jai placed freshly made dosas on our plates. The thin, savory crepes called my name as I quickly started breaking pieces off to dip into the chutney before stuffing them in my mouth.

The flight last night had taken more out of me than I'd realized, and dinner had barely replenished me. Jai didn't seem to mind as he kept placing a fresh dosa on my plate every time I finished one.

I rolled my eyes as Raph, Penny, and Dean started taking bets on how many I'd eat, and I shot Micah a betrayed look when he joined in, to which he merely broke into laughter.

Fuck, I'd truly missed these people, missed moments like these.

Never again. I was never going be away from Mistvale for this long ever again.