Tatiana's voice drifted throughout the building once more as she continued to call names forward.

"Welcome to the family, El!" Maribelle concluded. “You’re more than just a buddy now.”

"Th-thanks," Elias answered, still a little stunned.

The male Omega gasped when he was swept into a tight hug from behind.

"So proud of you, Eli!" came a booming voice as Elias's feet lifted from the floor. "That's my boy, the biggest gem and the first to find their mate! I admit I was worried, but I see nothing to get fussed about."

"Dad...I can't breathe..." Elias gasped. He was overly familiar with his father's painfully enthusiastic hugs, but that didn't make the sensation of his ribs creaking any more pleasant.

Pax's uncle stepped forward and extended his hand toward Eli's father. "I'm James Akashi, Pax's uncle and guardian...and this is my beloved mate, Leslie, and our daughter, Maribelle."

"El and I were classmates!" Maribelle stated eagerly. "And now we're gonna be practically siblings. I was lucky to have Pax as my adoptive brother since I was nine, but I've always wanted more siblings. This is just too cool!"

"My parents passed away when I was twelve," Pax elaborated sadly. While the subject was too heavy for a first date according to humans, werewolves willingly shared their deepest and darkest secrets with their mates as soon as possible. That both families were there to hear it made no difference in their culture. "It was a terrible traffic accident..."

Elias was grateful when his dad released him to shake hands.

"I'm delighted to meet you." The Andrews patriarch's green eyes were kind when they turned to Pax. "Though I am sorry to hear that. We can never replace what you've lost, but you should know that we consider you a son to us now."

"My baby!"

Elias braced himself as he was swept into another rib-cracking hug.

"Mom," Elias wheezed.

"I thought we'd have more time!" the tall red-headed werewolf keened. "Weeks at least until you found your mate! I'm not even close to finishing your promise quilt! And you're going to be gone! Everyone in the house will feel so worked up without you to calm them!"

Eli's mother dropped him suddenly, the Omega rubbing his hands over his aching sides.

"I'm Deana, but please, call me Dee. Everyone does." She turned back to her son. "Oh, honeybun, I thought you might never settle down, what with your tendencies. But here we are!"

"Mom," Elias barked as Dee opened her arms to grab him again. The Omega stumbled back, colliding with a warm, broad chest.

Pax gently held the sides of Eli's arms to steady him. "Are you alright?" A slight frown formed on his face. "I understand if you're not ready to move in with me just yet. My house is only a few blocks from my aunt and uncle's. It's not too far from this building."

"Move in?" Another normal part of their culture was for newly found mates to move in together almost immediately.  To the humans, it was a downright frightening custom, but it was as normal as breathing to wolves. Elias looked from his brand new mate to his parents. Who knew how many hugs he'd be subjected to if he went home before his family had a chance to settle down. It wasn't just his parents who tended to squeeze the stuffing out of him. He looked up at Pax, who was touching him so carefully. "Yeah, I'll move in. Is today too soon?"

Silver eyebrows raised slightly in surprise before a brilliant smile formed on Pax's face. While it was normal for mates to move in together as soon as possible, Omegas were often given a day or two to move their belongings and say goodbye to their families. "Today would be just fine," he responded. "I look forward to learning more about you, Elias."

Elias shivered, the man's voice drifting over him like a caress. His skin felt hot where Pax was touching him. Eli pushed back the desire to rub against the taller werewolf like a cat. Elias was no cat. He might be an Omega, but he was still a wolf. He had some pride.

"Calm down, Dee," Elias's father said, patting his mate's shoulder. "He's fine. Let's get his things packed so he can start all that nesting that Omegas like to do once they're mated." Jim smiled wide at his son. "It's good to see you settled, bud. I knew that you'd calm down once you got yourself a mate. I'm glad it worked out this way."

Elias clenched his teeth to bite back the sharp words on his tongue. It was hard enough for him to hide his excitement at finally getting some peace away from his overcrowded clan. Still, he allowed himself to be squashed by his parents again before they left. Dee alternately wailed at the loss of her little boy and shouted with excitement at the turn of events. Eli's shoulders sagged, emotionally exhausted, and physically sore when his parents were finally gone.

"Is everything alright?" Pax asked softly. "As overwhelming as all of this is for me, I imagine it's twice as overwhelming to you..." He placed his hands on his hips as he looked down and back into Eli's green eyes in a nervous manner. "To be honest, I'm happy. I never thought I'd come across a mate in this lifetime. I was ready to live vicariously through Maribelle if she found her mate."

"Speaking of which! Mom, dad, I'm gonna be heading out with some of the other Omegas. We're gonna go around town hunting!" She confessed.

"Alright, sweetie, just be home before midnight," Maribelle's mother responded. She then turned towards Pax. "We're quite happy for you, Pax. We're going to head back home and give you some privacy. Come on, honey." She said as she led her husband away.

When the two of them were utterly alone, Pax gave his undivided attention to his mate. "Would you...like some time alone to think?"

Elias thought about thinking, nibbling his lower lip. Thinking always got Elias stirred up. He'd think about what being an Omega meant and compare it to what it meant to him. He'd end up feeling trapped and powerless. Which could lead to him doing something stupid, ranging from mildly half-witted to monumentally brainless.

"Nope. I'm good," Elias chirped.

The Omega jumped at a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see the head devotee to Khonsu, Tatiana, smiling down at him.

"I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to startle you." Her voice was sweet and gentle. "I spoke to the other Omegas about it, but I didn't want to interrupt your time with your family." Her warm eyes trailed to the bonding stone Elias still held in his hand. "And seeing your gem, I believe it's relevant information."

Elias looked down at the stone, the swirls of gold catching the light. He held it away from him like it might try to bite his face.

"Why? What's wrong?" Elias asked nervously.

"Oh, no, nothing's wrong." Tatiana chuckled. "I just wanted to explain a few things about bonding stones. Do you have a moment?"

"Uh, yeah." Elias glanced at Pax and back to the devotee. "Sure."

"Wonderful," Tatiana said with a smile. "You did very well with finding your mate using the guiding light of the stone."

The devotee reached out, taking the necklace from Elias's limp fingers and looping the curling chain over his head. He expected it to be heavy with the weight of the stone, but it was nothing more than a warm pressure against his chest. Something relaxed inside him that Elias hadn't even realized had been wound tightly. The Omega put his hand over the gem in surprise.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" Tatiana said with a wink. "It's a gift from Khonsu to her Omegas, a tiny taste of the feelings you inspire in others."

Elias wanted to feel angry about it but couldn't. It was nice, and it wasn't an overwhelming feeling. It was a soft and quiet warmth, like petting a purring cat.

Not that Elias liked cats. What werewolf would ever admit to that?

"Many bonding stones will only hold one color. One color for one, mate." Tatiana nodded at Eli's gem. "A few will hold more than one color, like yours."

"I... What?" Elias asked blankly, looking down at his stone, at the yellow ribbons winding through it. "It's supposed to be one color, right? One color for Pax." He looked up hopefully. "Will it finish turning yellow later?"

"Well, no." The devotee shook her head. "The colors in a stone can deepen as the bond between an Omega and his mate grows. And I have no doubt that Pax's gold will grow even richer in your gem."

Elias didn't want to examine why that information made him simultaneously feel terror and deep longing. The warm fuzzy feeling was draining out of him faster than water in a leaky bucket.

"What I was getting at is that your stone isn't done collecting its colors." Tatiana smiled brightly. "You have more than one mate to find, and only then will your bonding stone not be clear anymore." She leaned forward to whisper to him. "I'm very excited for you. I can't wait to see how many you'll have. We've never had a stone so large. It caused quite a stir. You're deeply blessed by the goddess."

Tatiana had broken Elias's brain. 

"H-how many mates are we talking about here?" the Omega squeaked.

"Oh, it's impossible to say. Judging by the size of Pax's colors and the size of the stone, at least three or four more.”

"Three or four?" Elias shouted, oblivious to his volume and the look of shock on Tatiana's face. "I can't have four mates! I'm not sure I'll be able to handle one! What am I going to do with four? I'll be completely outnumbered."

Static filled Elias's ears as he clutched a hand to his chest, forcing the gem to dig painfully into his skin as his vision grayed at the edges.

"What if they never let me out of the house again?" Elias tilted a little to the side. "They can do that. I'll belong to them. During a turf conflict, Dad kept me in the house for two months because he said Omegas are too precious to expose to even the slightest risk. My five-year-old baby sister still went to school, but I stayed home." Eli's eyes were wild as his eyes darted around the darkening room, the static in his ears rising to a roar. "They could decide it's never safe. I'd never get out. I can't sneak away from four wolves!"

Tatiana and Pax looked on as the blood drained from the young Omega's face. Just as Elias began to teeter, Pax rushed forward and caught him before he hit the ground.

"Elias!" He cried out as he carefully lifted his mate into his arms.

Tatiana reached over to gently swipe the Omega's soft, auburn locks away from his face. She made a tutting noise. "The possibility of so many mates must have overwhelmed the sweet one," she concluded as she closed her eyes and used her power of the goddess to assess him. "He will be fine. Take him home and allow him to wake up on his own."

The relief that flowed through him allowed Pax to relax his stiff stance. "Thank you, Lady Tatiana." A frown formed on his face as he thought about the fact that he would have more mates, as well. "Do you think we can have so many mates? Wouldn't it be too difficult on Elias?"

Tatiana shook her head and simply smiled. The head devotee felt quite happy that their town had been blessed with such a rare case. "The goddess will protect him...although, perhaps this goes beyond just our beloved goddess," she mused aloud.

"More than...what do you mean?" Pax questioned.

Lady Tatiana shook her head again. "Don't worry. Elias will be well-protected, as will you and the mates you share."

Pax didn't know why he couldn't fully believe that. A strange feeling in his gut kept telling him that he should protect Elias himself and urge their other mates to do the same. "Then, farewell for now," he said as he headed out of the building with the smaller werewolf in his arms.

The necklace flashed sharply when Pax reached the entrance of the building. One of their mates must be somewhere in town. The golden-eyed werewolf took a few more steps to see if the necklace would continue to flicker, but the stone remained dormant. A part of Pax was actually relieved. The gem was only active when Elias was fully awake. If the flicker he had seen before was for his own awareness, Pax wondered just how sentient the stone could be.