Spencer tucked the slip of paper into his shirt pocket. “I will. Though I’m doing better with my animal now. Maybe one day I won’t need glasses either.”
“I’m going to miss you!” Tiff wailed, throwing her arms around him. “I’m going to miss all of you guys!”
“We’ll miss you too, Tiff,” Finley said as Rufus patted her shoulder. “But we’re not saying goodbye forever. We’ll see each other again next year.”
Tiff sniffed, wiping her nose on the back of her hand. “But it won’t be the same. Shan won’t be here.”
“Yousureyou can’t come back as a counselor next year?” Estelle asked him wistfully.
“I’m afraid not,” he said. He glanced at Leonie, the mate bond shining in his heart like a star. “But I think you’ll see me around.”
She smiled back at him. “I’m not going anywhere, kids. Shan has to get back to his real job, but he should still be able to drop by the camp now and then.”
“Working as a secret agent sounds like a pretty cool career,” Archie said thoughtfully. “Protecting shifters and catching bad guys and stuff.”
“Yeah! We should all join Shifter Affairs when we’re old enough!” Tiff bounced on her toes, pointing at each camper in turn. “I’ll be the super cool agent constantly uncovering weird new stuff, and Spencer, you can be the skeptical guy who’s always wrong. Beth, you can use your pegasus powers to track down suspects, so Rufus and Finley can interrogate them.”
Archie nodded eagerly. “And when there’s a fight, I’ll protect everyone!”
“Not me, you won’t.” Estelle made a stabbing motion. “I’ll skewer the bad guys with my horn. Right through the heart!”
“Yeah!” Tiff said, before Shan could point out that this would involve a great deal of paperwork. “And Ignatius, you can, uh…” She seemed to flounder for a moment. “Well, we can figure that out later.”
“Leave me out of this,” Ignatius retorted. “It’s bad enough being stuck with you idiots every summer. I refuse to make a career out of it.”
“All right, kids, time to say goodbye,” Leonie said, smiling. “At least for now.”
In a flurry of last-minute hugs, the kids separated; some heading for buses, others for cars. Shan stayed by the entrance to the camp, watching until they were all out of sight.
Leonie slipped an arm around his waist. “If you’re having second thoughts, that job offer is still open.”
He smiled, shaking his head. “I enjoyed working with the kids this summer. But I’m needed elsewhere. You don’t mind?”
“Not as long as you always come back.” She leaned against him. “And hopefully, you won’t have to go too far. Do you think Min-Seo will approve your transfer?”
“I think so. There are a lot of shifters in this area, and the number is only growing. Shifter Affairs should already have established a regional base here before now, really.” He pulled her closer to his side. “But I don’t have to go back to work just yet.”
“Good, because I plan to take some time off, too.” She poked him in the ribs. “You may have managed to get my twin on your side, but you’ve still got to meet the rest of my family.”
“I am looking forward to it,” he said, and then remembered just how many brothers she had. “I think.”
Leonie laughed. “Don’t worry, they’ll love you. Eventually. Just brace yourself for a thorough interrogation.”
“I can understand your family being somewhat suspicious of me, after everything I put you through.” He hesitated, thinking of all the unknowns that lay outside the small, safe world of the camp. “And there is still a great deal we need to discuss about our future.”
“We’ll figure it out.” She smiled up at him, sunlight catching in her golden eyes. “Together.”
He smiled, bending down to kiss her. “Truth.”
EPILOGUE
NEXT SUMMER
Danny
Lola
Stop leaving me on read
