Page 149 of Alpha Mates

“As if you wouldn’t love that.”

He chokes on nothing, eyes blown wide as if my words assaulted him. I burst out laughing—so hard the car swerves as I clench both my stomach and the steering wheel.

“Too soon?” I tease. “I thought you enjoyed it.”

“Shut up, Julian. I can’t concentrate,” he grumbles as he fluffs the map out. There’s a tinge of red to his cheeks when I glance over. “Next right,” he adds.

Still smiling, I follow the directive, focusing on getting us to our first destination.

The drive is as short as promised. The roads are empty, signs clear, and soon we’re parked at the starting point of the valley’s hiking trails. We set off on foot, climbing one of the more challenging paths.

It’s … harder than I expected. I only chose it because of what waits at the end, but I still didn’t expect to struggle. Though I suppose our lands don’t have many peaks, and certainly none quite this steep, so the uphill climb taxes me sooner than I’d like.

“Do you know where you’re going?” Aiden asks as I stop to squint at the map again.

“Yeah. We’re almost there,” I mumble, glancing between the thin line on the paper and the barely visible trail ahead, given all the foliage.

“Now is the perfect time to use a phone,” Aiden sings as he steps ahead to climb over a fallen tree trunk. “I’m sure the map on it is more updated than that thing. And thisdoescount as an emergency if we’re lost.”

“We’re not lost,” I dismiss as I look around. We’re not, but it doesn’t help that everything looks unnervingly similar. “Besides, I doubt there’s reception up here.”

“Only one way to know for sure,” he presses. “I know you’re against technology and all that, but a quick glance at your phone—”

“I don’t have a phone,” I cut him off as I begin walking again.

He stops dead, this time blocking the entire path with his figure.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“What is wrong withyou?” I counter. “We’ve been mates for over a month, and you’rejust nowrealising I don’t have a phone?”

“We’re always together,” he argues, shaking his head. “And don’t twist this on me. Why in all the realms would I think to check that you have something as basic as a phone?”

Rolling my eyes, I shoulder past the imbecile and carry on, map in hand.

We haven’t been walking that long, no more than half an hour. We’re not lost, I know that much, but I thought I would have heard it by now.

“What’s that?” Aiden asks suddenly, making me freeze. He tilts his head. “Is that water?”

Following his gaze, I turn forward again, and my ears prick as I hear it too: the distant sound of rushing water. My lips curve as I run ahead, branches whipping as I break through the last line of dense trees—

And there it is.

The map’s promised cliff and viewpoint overlooks a valley of rich shades of green and brown that shine under the sunlight. To the left, a short waterfall breaks down into a broad river, its waters calming some by the time they flow along the path below us, where it glimmers in a combination of cerulean blue and aquamarine.

It’s beautiful.

“Woah,” Aiden murmurs as he comes to a stop at my side, dark brown eyes practically sparkling as he nears the edge and peers down. “This is nice.”

“It is,” I agree, turning to face him. “We can stay up here and appreciate the view, or …”

“Or …” Aiden echoes, lips already spreading into a smile to match mine as he watches me fold the map away.

“We can do the first thing on the list—cliff diving.”

Aiden whistles and steps back, but his gaze remains on the river waiting below. “That’s a long way down.”

It is, but he sounds thrilled by the prospect, which is exactly what I was banking on. Aiden’s always been a live-on-the-edge type of guy, so I knew he’d love this.