The silver-haired werewolf made his way back home. Though he was more than strong enough to carry the younger man, the distance did wear him out a bit. Despite the strain, Pax didn't drop Elias once. Some crouching and shifting were involved when he reached his door, but he unlocked it without jostling Eli around too much. The Alpha gently laid Elias out onto his suede, blue-gray sofa, ensuring that one of the satin pillows rested beneath his head. After closing, but not locking, the door, he sat beside the Omega. If Elias awoke with any regrets, he’d be able to leave without any duress.

Pax gently traced the younger man's face with his fingers. He was relieved that color had returned to his face. The memory of how Elias had paled and fainted flashed before Pax's eyes, and another frown formed on his face. His mate seemed downright terrified of having so many mates. No, it wasn't just that. Elias's worries about being held captive by his mates were concerning. The very thought of it pained the older werewolf. He would never have kept the Omega against his will.

Elias woke slowly, surrounded by warmth. He hummed contentedly. Someone must have let the dogs in, and were all on the bed again. Dad hated when the dogs lay all over him. The Andrews patriarch said the animals might accidentally smother Elias in his sleep. Which was utterly ridiculous.

Elias let the dogs in his room as often as possible.

The Omega snuggled in with a smile, throwing his arm across a big warm body.

"Good boy, Zeus," Elias murmured sleepily. "Who's a good boy?"

Pax swallowed hard as the innocent contact sent sparks flying everywhere Elias touched. The Omega's scent was as wonderful as cookies wafting from a warm stove on a cold winter day. The older werewolf cleared his throat a bit as he carefully moved Elias back to how he originally was on the couch. "How are you feeling, Elias?" He asked softly.

Elias squeaked, sitting up so fast he nearly fell off the sofa.

"The fuck?" Elias blinked wide green eyes at Pax several times as his brain caught up with consciousness. "Pax? I... What happened?" He glanced around. "Where are we? Why am I on a couch?"

Elias peeked under the afghan covering him. His pants were still on, thank the goddess.

"You fainted, and Lady Tatiana suggested I take you home to rest for a bit. How are you feeling?" Pax asked, concerned. "Do you want to go see a Healer?"

"Ah, no. I'm fine." Elias's face blazed with embarrassment. "Sorry, I kind of freaked out there."

"With the news she gave us, I wasn't exactly calm about it myself.”

"Shit, I didn't even think about how you'd feel about it." Elias hunched his shoulders, shame punching him in the chest. "I'm so sorry. Are you okay? I'll understand if you're angry. I kind of pulled you into this." Elias sighed softly. "If you want to reject the bond, I'll understand. You didn't sign up for my craziness. You seem like a really nice guy. You don't deserve this crap."

The unnatural calm of the bonding stone tried to wheedle into him, but Elias pushed it away, knowing it was a lie.

"Wait, none of this is your fault," Pax insisted. "I don't want to reject the bond, not even if we have a hundred mates out there. I just want to get to know you..."

"What, um, what would you like to know?" Elias asked, shifting on the sofa.

Now that he was awake and had calmed down a little, Elias could feel the pull to Pax. It was a magnet inside his skin, making him want to plaster himself against the more oversized wolf-like saran wrap. Elias struggled not to sprawl across his mate's warm, muscled body.

Pax finally sat down beside the Omega. "For starters, what would you like to have for dinner?"

Elias nodded; this was expected. Most Omegas were quite the little homemakers. They got weird satisfaction out of feeding their pack. It had been assumed Eli had felt the same, not that anyone had ever asked. Elias had been solely in charge of all the meals for the Andrews household since he was around eight years old. After he'd accidentally burned himself a few times, someone was always in the kitchen with him, watching him. But they didn't really help make anything. They pulled down any ingredients he was reaching for, whether he asked for them or not, and constantly warned him to be careful with anything sharp. Eli hoped Pax wasn't the hovering sort.

"Let me just see what you have," Elias said, hopping to his feet. He looked around the living room to determine the most likely direction of the kitchen, not realizing his face had pulled into grim lines. "Do you prefer Italian, Mexican, Chinese, or American? How much time do I have before you need the food on the table?"

"Whoa, whoa," Pax cried out. "I don't mean for you to make it. I meant for us to go out and eat something together. It's been a long day for both of us. Why don't we just take a load off?"

"Oh." Elias turned back to Pax, feeling off-balance. "You want to take me somewhere? To eat out, not order in?"

He knew he probably had a stupid look on his face, but he couldn't hide his surprise. The Andrews family had only gone out to eat a few times a year. If any of the Alphas thought there might be any danger, Elias had been told to stay home while everyone else went. Elias had eventually given up arguing about it.

"Yeah, is there any place you'd like to go? I can look up any Italian, Mexican, Chinese, or American places nearby..." Pax insisted.

Elias grinned, rushing over to Pax and throwing his arms around him. The Andrews were huggers, after all. Elias just didn't tend to squeeze the stuffing out of others. He was too small for that.

"Really? You promise? You don't have to call around to make sure it's safe? Could we just go? Like, we could go and get..." Elias thought for a moment, practically vibrating with happy excitement. "Uh, a buffet? Oh my goddess, can we go to the Golden Kettle? I saw an ad, and they have a chocolate fountain!" The Omega narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "And you'd let me get my food myself?"

His family didn't like taking him to buffets. The one time they had, Elias had stayed in his seat between two high-ranked Alphas, and other people had gone and fetched him whatever he'd asked for. Elias knew they were just trying to be solicitous and protective. Still, the Omega had hated feeling like a useless little princess.

"Forget promises," Pax responded as he took hold of one of the younger werewolf's hands and headed towards the door. "Let's just go right now. If you don't know how to get to the Golden Kettle from my house, I'll just look for it on a map on my phone."

"I have no idea where it is," Elias admitted, his smile so wide his face hurt. The Omega hugged Pax's arm to his chest. Wow, muscles. Nice. "Can we figure it out in the car?"

Pax felt his mind would explode with how many times Elias kept hugging him. All he knew was that he wanted the Omega to be happy...happy enough to keep touching and hugging him. "No problem. I'll find it on my phone, and you can be my co-pilot."

Elias wriggled happily to the car, blushing as he had to release Pax's arm so the man could open Eli's door for him. Elias's smile stayed firmly on his face as Pax closed the door, allowing the Omega to fasten his seatbelt. Eli was amazed. He never imagined being mated would be this awesome.

After Pax got into the car, he searched for the nearest Golden Kettle on his phone. Then he handed it over for Elias to hold. He was starting to feel more than a little nervous, as it would be his first date with his first mate. So many firsts! "I've never been to that restaurant before, so I'll follow your lead."

"Oh, umm, I dunno if I'm going to be a ton of help, then." Elias scooted down in the seat, making himself smaller in front of his Alpha mate. "I went once, and I didn't have much. I felt bad making my sister get me everything." Elias sighed wistfully. "Chocolate fountain," he whispered longingly.

"Then, we'll just have to figure it out together. Don't worry," Pax immediately amended. "Though I'm guessing that the chocolate fountain was good?"

"I didn't get any." Elias sighed again. "But it smelled so good."

"If it's there tonight, then you'll have your chance," Pax pointed out.

"Thanks!" Elias didn't notice when he rested his hand on Pax's thigh, the magnetic pull to his mate still thrumming under his skin. "I'm starving. This is going to be sweet!"

The Omega's enthusiasm was contagious. If Pax were a sly werewolf, he'd draw out their drive as long as possible to keep the contact going. But he didn't. All too soon, they pulled up to the parking lot at Golden Kettle and made their way inside.

Eli bounced on his heels as they ordered drinks and Pax paid. A werewolf waitress smiled sweetly at them as she led them to a booth. Elias didn't think his smile could get bigger as they got their food. Pax got Elias a plate but let the Omega carry it himself when Eli asked. He offered to dish up the food Elias wanted but didn't force the issue when Eli assured Pax he was happy to do it himself. A few other Alphas frowned at the sight of an Omega carrying his own food-laden plate, but no one said anything. Elias was too happy to notice.

Pax noted some of the faces of the other Alphas, and he growled low in his throat as he passed by their tables. They needed to mind their own business. Just because Elias wanted to serve his own plate didn't mean he was unprotected. His face changed into a wide smile when the Omega headed towards their table and took a seat. The older werewolf sat down across from him.

"Urgh," Elias moaned happily. "Hushpuppies," he said with his mouth full. "Wait..." He dipped a ball of the fried dough into a little bowl of melted cheese, popping it into his mouth and moaning. "Even better!"

The Omega mowed through his plate, moaning and cooing happily over buttered yeast rolls, fried chicken, stir-fry, and mashed potatoes. Elias went back to the buffet twice, abusing his access to the chocolate fountain, covering the sweetness of marshmallows, strawberries, and crispy rice treats.

When Elias assured him he'd be fine, Pax let him go back by himself. The more prominent man wasn't very worried about it. He could see most of the buffet from where they sat. Even if he couldn't, he'd be able to hear if Elias needed him. Eventually, Elias finally slowed down his feeding frenzy, wiping his mouth with a napkin and taking a sip of lemonade.

"This is amazing. I can't remember the last time I had such fun. Thank you so much," Elias said earnestly. "Even if you never let me do this again, thank you."

Pax shook his head and leaned back in a stunned manner. "Why would I never let you do this again? Something like this would be nice a couple of times a week, don't you think?" He asked.

Elias paused with a chocolate-drenched strawberry halfway to his mouth. A bit of still-warm chocolate dripped onto his plate with a soft plop.

"Seriously?" Elias asked breathlessly, then frowned. "Why?" He set the strawberry down without eating it. "I don't understand what's going on. Nobody lets their Omega out this much. Being an Omega means having someone constantly up your butt watching for every little thing that might be a threat. It means never getting to do anything for yourself or making your own decisions." Elias rested his palms on the cool, crumb-flecked surface of the table and peered at Pax curiously. "How did you not learn this stuff?"

And how long until you figure it out and there's no more going out, no more anything for me? Elias thought to himself.

Pax let out a soft snort and gave him a half-smile. "I look like I never learned any of it?" He questioned. "You are my mate before you are an Omega. It's my job now to protect you...but that doesn't mean I have to smother you."

"Well, you sure aren't acting like I'm an Omega. I'm not complaining, but aren't you worried something bad could happen?" Elias rolled his emerald eyes. "My old pack's Alphas always seemed to have a list as long as my arm for why things weren't safe."

Elias didn't add that he always thought almost everything they'd spouted off was either stupidly ridiculous or amazingly unlikely.

"That’s not how the Akashi treat their Omegas. Don't I look strong enough to protect you?" He teased before shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, I don't want anything bad to happen to you. I don't want anything bad to happen to either of us. But, I'd worry more if I weren't around you...If I can still see you, I can protect you."

Elias dove under the table, popping up on the other side next to a startled Pax. The Omega practically crawled into Pax's lap, hugging him vigorously.

"I'm going to freak out if you ever change your mind about all this," Elias said seriously, shoving his face under Pax's chin and nuzzling affectionately. The Omega sat back on Pax's lap and frowned. "What about the others, though? We're going to have at least two more mates. What if they want to wrap me up in cotton and sit on me all the time?"

Pax couldn't help but laugh at the vivid picture that Elias painted. He placed his hand on the younger werewolf's auburn hair and gently stroked it. "If they're anything like me, they'll know to trust that you'll be fine," he figured. "And if they're not, I'll ensure they won't wrap you up in cotton and sit on you. While I may not look it, I came from a very solid line of Alphas."

"You're too good to be true." Elias cupped Pax's face in his hands and studied his handsome face. "I can't tell you how worried I was about getting a mate. I thought it might be worse than before." Elias shook his head slightly. "I love my pack, don't get me wrong, and I know they love me. They just wanted to protect me from everything. They treated me how they think an Omega should be treated. It was just a little suffocating." Eli smiled wide and leaned forward to press a soft kiss on Pax's lips, warmth and contentment blooming in his chest. "I think I owe the Goddess a bucket and a half of thank you prayers for setting us up."

Pax couldn't remember the last time he ever blushed. His face glowed red in response to the kiss he was bestowed. He cleared his throat in a nervous gesture. "Honestly, I think I owe her just as many thank you prayers, as well." He placed his hands gently on Elias's hips. "Whenever you're ready to go home, we can take our desserts to go. Tomorrow I'm gonna get you a phone and a copy of the house key."

Feeling a little high and reckless, Elias sat back, rubbing his backside on Pax's lap.

"Let's go home," Elias said with pink cheeks and a mischievous grin. "Then we can have some dessert."