Thirty

Kai

It'd been two days since Saaya went on her "mission." She hadn't come back yet, but Micah had assured me she was okay.

Over the past two days, I'd spent every waking moment with Cam, Micah, and Ember, and I was starting to get to know them well.

They'd asked me—well, Cam had done the actual asking, but it'd been on behalf of all three—a few nights ago if I'd be uncomfortable with them being intimate with each other. He'd assured me that they didn't mind abstaining until I was ready, but I'd waved him off. I knew they'd met Ember only a short while ago, and I didn't want them to hit pause on their relationship because of me. I'd assured them I was fine with it.

But later at night when I lay in my bed with theirs just a wall away, I couldn't help imagining what they were doing. Fantasies and images had filled my mind, and I'd hoped to god Micah was too busy to hear my thoughts. Not that I thought he'd break his promise of not reading my mind.

"What are you thinking about?" Cam's voice pulled me out of my musings, and I blushed instantly at his question, which made him grin. "Oooh, that's an interesting reaction. Were you thinking about something dirty, Kai?"

I rolled my eyes at him, and he chuckled, his green eyes sparkling merrily. I'd never known anyone as bright as Cam, and over the past few days, I'd discovered that he was a genuinely happy man. He was always trying to make everyone around him happy, whether it was with a joke or a prank or simply by keeping them company.

"Don't torture our mate, Cam," Micah murmured, his eyes still focused on the book he was reading. He was curled up in the armchair with his knees pulled up to his chest in a highly uncomfortable-looking pose, but he seemed perfectly content as he read the thick tome he'd been toting around for the last two days.

"I'm not torturing him!" Cam protested, eyeing me like he was hoping I'd concur.

"Maybe a little," I admitted, and he sucked in a gasp, pressing his palm to his chest rather dramatically.

"Oh, my dear Kai. How could you say that?"

Ember snorted from the kitchen, where he was busy making lunch. He'd shooed Cam out within minutes of starting and declared no one was allowed in the kitchen until he was done. I wondered what Cam had done to elicit that reaction.

"I was thinking..." Cam started, and Micah glanced up.

"Oh no," he murmured in a voice filled with mock-dread, making Cam laugh.

"Shush, you! I was thinking...that while we wait for the little shadow monster, we should go on a date. All four of us."

"That...is a great idea!" Micah said with a smile, his eyes sliding to me. "What do you think, Kai? Would you like to go on a date with us?"

I stared at him, wide-eyed. I should've expected this. After all, we were mates. Of course we'd go on dates. Why hadn't the thought occurred to me at all until now?

Micah's smile faltered. "It's okay if you want to wait or if you just aren't up for it."

I blinked, then shook my head. "No, I mean. Yes, I'd like that."

"Yeah?" Micah's smile reappeared, and I returned it, nodding quickly.

"Ember! We're going on a date tonight!" Cam shouted, as if Ember didn't have supe hearing.

"I heard, Cam," he answered mildly, making me chuckle.

"Okay, so where should we head?" Cam questioned, his eyes flicking from me to Micah.

I shrugged. "I don't know Mistvale very well—" or what a good date would be like, not that I'd tell them that, "—so you should choose."

Cam's brows furrowed thoughtfully, and he glanced at Micah, something passing between them. They'd told me about the mental link they shared with Ember, and they'd promised to add me to it once I felt comfortable with having Micah in my head.

Micah had also assured me that he didn't mind keeping his shields up for me—even though I'd figured out that it gave him headaches—but I still felt a little guilty. Even though we were still getting to know each other, I didn't like the idea that I was inadvertently hurting Micah. I still wasn't ready to allow him access to my head, but I wished there was something I could do to block him so he wouldn't need to maintain his shields all the time.

"Okay, how about a picnic?" Micah asked, and I smiled.

"It sounds fun."

"I can make us some picnic food later," Ember chimed in from the kitchen as the scent of spices filled the air. I breathed it in greedily as my stomach growled, making Cam grin. "Lunch will be ready in ten," Ember added, and I blushed, wondering if he'd heard my stomach too.

As Cam and Micah started talking about the best time for a picnic and how Cam needed to tell Raiden to keep Mistvale rain-free this evening, my thoughts started drifting once more.

The worry for my coat was a constant buzz in my mind, but I ignored it in favor of the awe I felt at how close I'd grown to these three men in a matter of days.

Despite my determination to not trust them, I'd failed. Somehow, without realizing it, I'd started believing in Cam, Micah, and Ember. Maybe it was because of how kind they'd been to me, or because of how adamant they were about getting my coat back. Or maybe it was because of the bond we shared, a bond that existed even if I couldn't feel it.

I didn't know what exactly it was, but I knew that when I looked at Cam, butterflies started fluttering in my belly, and when I looked at Micah, I wanted him to press me against a wall and kiss me, and when I looked at Ember, I wanted to be wrapped up in his big arms.

"Oh, if we go there, I can show Kai my dragon! And Ember can show off his phoenix," Cam said, bringing me back to the conversation.

"I can see your dragon?"

Cam grinned, sliding closer to me on the couch. "Of course! You could even ride me, if you wanted."

The idea of being up in the sky terrified me, but Cam wouldn't let me fall, right?

"That sounds amazing."

Ember

After a filling lunch, Cam was sprawled on the living room floor with his arms wrapped around Jodi, and Micah was once again curled up in his armchair, while Kai and I sat on the couch. I'd convinced Kai to lie down on the couch, and my hand rested on his ankle, his feet in my lap.

Kai was still a little stiff, as if unsure if he could relax, and I rubbed my palm over his shins, hoping he'd settle in. Meeting his dark eyes, I offered him a soft smile, and he returned it a little hesitantly. I didn't blame him.

While I had jumped into this relationship headfirst, I'd also been waiting for more than 800 years for it. I couldn't expect the same from Kai, especially when such an important part of him had been stolen.

I opened my mouth, planning to ask Cam when he wanted to leave for this picnic date of ours, but before I could speak, sharp pain raced across my spine, making me jerk my hand off Kai as I curled forward with a hiss.

My symptoms were getting worse, and faster than usual. Had I miscounted? Did I have less time left than I'd thought? Shit. This was not the right time for this.

"Ember? Ember!"

The haze of pain lessened a little, and I realized I was surrounded. Kai was pressed against my right, his knees digging into the side of my leg as he clutched my shoulder. Cam was on my left, his palm running up and down my back as he pressed his lips to my temple. And on his knees in front of me was Micah, his hands perched on my knees as he gazed up at me. I met his worried eyes as I opened mine and smiled softly as the pain disappeared as quickly as it'd arrived.

"Are you okay?" Micah asked, his voice hitching at the end, and I reached forward, wrapping my hands around his waist and pulling him up. He came willingly, and I was glad we'd gotten the new couch and Cam had paid an obscene amount of money for the one-day delivery, because it was deep enough that Micah could perch on it between my legs.

"I'm okay," I assured them, glancing at Kai when I noticed how hard his fingers were digging into my shoulder. "I'm okay."

Kai nodded slowly, then loosened his grip, as if just now realizing he was still doing it.

"It's getting worse, isn't it?" Cam asked, and I sighed. I thought about downplaying it, but I didn't want to lie to my mates.

"Yeah. I think I might've miscounted," I said, rubbing my right hand over my face while my left arm stayed wrapped around Micah.

"Shit," Cam muttered, and I agreed. I didn't want to deal with this, not when we had more important things to focus on, like Kai's coat and our relationship. We'd only just gotten together, and I didn't want to saddle them with the responsibility of kid-me. Which reminded me of something I'd thought of before. I hadn't gotten the chance to bring it up before, but this seemed as good a time as any.

"I was thinking of asking Raiden and William if they'd be willing to...foster me, for lack of a better word, after I'm reborn," I said, and Micah frowned as I met his eyes.

"You think we can't look after you?"

"I don't think that's it, princess," Cam murmured, his green eyes serious as he glanced between us. "When Ember is reborn, he'll be a kid physically and mentally. We're his mates, and while we love him,—" that was news to me, but Cam blew past it like he hadn't just told me he and Micah loved me, "—our love is decidedly romantic, and I don't think that meshes well with the type of care kid-Ember will need."

Yeah, that was exactly why. Until now, I'd spent the six months it took me to grow in a long sleep since I didn't have anyone to look after me, but I didn't think my mates would allow me to do that, so this was my next best option.

"So will you not want us to see you at all for the whole six months?" Micah asked, and I shook my head.

"No, of course not. You can visit, but I'm worried I might hurt you since I won't remember you."

Micah waved me off. "We won't be upset. Right, Kai?"

I realized our newest mate had been silent this whole time, and I glanced at him, meeting his dark eyes. I'd told him about my end-of-cycle troubles and what rebirth would entail, and while he'd taken it all in stride, I wondered if he was struggling now.

"Yeah, of course not. I bet baby-Ember will be all chubby and cute," he said with a smirk, making me laugh.

"Right? He'll be a round little thing with stubby fingers and big blue eyes. My dads might never give you back, you know," Cam teased, and I rolled my eyes at him.

"I'll talk to them about it later."

"They'll say yes," Cam said, waving it off like he had no doubts whatsoever. Honestly, I didn't either. Cam and Micah's parents were some of the kindest men I'd ever met, and I knew either of the pair would be more than happy to help me. I might ask them both, just in case I hadn't miscounted, because then my rebirth would be pretty close to Raiden and William's hatchlings' arrival, and I wouldn't want to add more to their plate.

Kai was the first to move away, and he slid back to his previous spot on the other side of the couch. Maybe getting a bigger couch hadn't been the best idea, since Kai was so damned far away now.

Cam settled deeper into the couch on my other side, which prompted Jodi to jump up on the couch and curl up on Cam's other side.

Micah stayed where he was, snuggling deeper into my chest, and I wrapped both arms around him as I leaned back into the couch, humming in contentment.

Whether my cycle ended in a few days or in a year, I was going to spend every moment until then with these three.