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"Careful!"
"Chill out," he quipped back, raising a brow. "I'm a grown man who can handle himself. Just because you mated me doesn't mean I'm suddenly some helpless omega."
Dane scowled, striding forward to reorient Elias with the path ahead. "That doesn't mean you should be reckless. Watch where you're going if you don't want to be treated like someone in need of protection."
Elias didn't have a witty comeback for that one. Leave it to Dane to have all the logical answers. He huffed and reached around to pull out the water bottle from his backpack, squirting it into his mouth. It was cool as it slicked down his dry throat, giving him relief. He handed it to Dane right after. The alpha took a sip while watching him, and Elias couldn't help but stare at the way his gray tee shirt stretched taut across his wide chest.
Fuck, his alphas were hot.
"You're staring," Dane commented.
Elias shrugged. "What? I can't stare at something that belongs to me?"
Dane chuckled and stepped up onto the final rock face at the top of the mountain.
"You've acclimated to being our mate quite fast. Before you were all, 'I can't be with alphas, oh—'"
Elias cut him off by punching him in the arm with a scowl. "I don't sound like that."
"You kind of do," Ian teased, poking him in the side.
"Hey! You're supposed to be on my side!"
Elias surged forward to chase Ian, intent on tickling him to death where he knew his best friend was most sensitive, when Levi snatched him up around the middle, swinging him in the sun. He couldn't help but squeal and laugh as his legs came off the ground.
"Ah! Let me down right now! Justice must be served!"
Levi smiled against the back of his neck, nosing the bandages still covering his fresh mating marks. They'd need about a week longer to heal, and then he could show them off everywhere he went.
"No can do, we're here."
His alpha walked over to the edge of the cliff before setting Elias down to take in the view. Thousands of tall maple and oak trees swayed far below them, only broken up by intermittent fields of crops or flowers. He knew home was far in the distance where his eyes couldn't see. They'd go back changed forever.
Before Levi could pull his arms away completely, Elias grabbed them and held on, feeling emotional. "We're mated."
Levi placed his chin atop Elias' head. "Yes, we are."
"You're mine."
"And you're ours," Ian replied, coming back when he thought it was safe and bumping their shoulders together.
Elias smiled up at him, his cheeks straining with the effort of showcasing his happiness. "I love you."
Ian's gaze blew wide, halcyon eyes shimmering in the sunlight. "Oh, wow. I love you too."
Elias reached out and pulled him closer, planting a kiss across his cheek. "I mean it about all of you."
"No fair!" Dane called as he jogged over from where he'd been taking pictures. "Did I just hear you confess your love while I wasn't even close?"
Elias glanced at him with humor. "You're right there."
He stopped in front of Elias, leaning down into his personal space with a pleading look on his face. "Say it again."
He did, with pleasure. "I love you."
Dane grinned and leaned in for a kiss. Elias cherished it. This was everything. Not work, not meaningless relationships made of pain and regret. He wanted this for the rest of his life, and only this. If he lost everything else, it wouldn't even matter. That distinction made tears spring to his eyes as he pulled back.
"You mean the world to me," Dane replied. "And I love you."
