Maybe she was concerned that the tension that had been growing between him and Ty would finally turn violent today. And who the fuck knew—maybe it would.
When Samson had dragged Cassidy to Evander's, he'd only wanted her to face reality. But it was possible that he had gone too far. He'd shown some of the pups that he wouldn't stand for disrespect, but he'd also deepened the rift between himself and Ty.
And, apparently, formed a brand new one with Cassidy.
Samson hadn't been expecting that. But then again, he had never had to worry about how his temper impacted anyone else before.
Shit, he'd never had to worry about anyone else…period.
That was why he'd consented to this visit after Mia had harangued him. He hoped that being around the omegas might pull Cassidy out of her funk. It had better work, because he was running out of ideas.
All he knew was that he wasn't going to live his life in exile just because some of his brothers were close-minded bigots…and neither was Cassidy.
Mia was right. His woman deserved to be in the company of other women. Other mates. She deserved the chance to make friends and be a part of a community. And Samson didn't care how many jaws he had to break in order to give her that.
Ty steeled himself as he pulled out of the dense copse of trees and into the circular drive in front of Randall and Gail's house. There were three alphas already waiting on the porch for them—Randall, Kian, and Ty.
Cassidy tensed beside him at the less than friendly looking welcoming committee. "You sure we can't spend the day at home?" she asked as he cut the engine.
Samson didn't answer. Anything he said from this distance would be picked up by alpha ears, and the last thing he needed was to give his brothers any more ammunition. So instead, he simply opened his door and stepped out, knowing that Cassidy would follow.
"Afternoon," Randall said, greeting Cassidy with a quick nod. "The omegas are waiting for you inside in the kitchen."
Samson went over the door and held it open for her, shielding her from the worst of his brothers' stares. She looked up at him and took a deep breath before stepping inside. As he closed the door behind her, Samson caught a fresh wave of anxiety wafting off her.
And he wasn't the only one who noticed it.
"She all right?" Kian asked behind him.
Samson shook his head before turning around. There was no point in pretending. His brothers would be able to sense his lies just as easily as he sensed Cassidy's.
Of course, that didn't mean he needed to tell them the whole truth. "She says she's worried about finding her place in our world."
"Maybe that's because she doesn't belong here," Ty was quick to say.
That didn't take long. The hairs on the back of Samson's neck stood on end at the insult. A growl of warning rumbled deep in the back of his throat. His chest expanded as he moved toward his one-time friend.
But before he could get to Ty's throat, Randall stepped in his path. The older alpha might have been greying at the temples and nearly half a foot shorter than Samson, but he still radiated a cool, controlled energy that made it clear that—on this land, at least—he was in charge.
"You don't want to do that," he said.
Samson ground his back teeth together. He clenched his fist so hard the nails bit into the flesh of his palm. But no matter how badly he wanted to shut Ty's mouth, he wouldn't insult Randall by punching another alpha on his property.
Once Samson backed down and uncurled his fists, Randall turned toward Ty. "And the last person I remember talking about who belonged here was Mia's father," he said. "And I'm still cleaning that bastard's blood off of my walls."
Ty narrowed his eyes. "That was different."
"Was it?" Randall shot back.
"Mia is an omega," Ty said. "Cassidy is a beta. Don't get me wrong. She's a fine woman, but we can't pretend she's something that she's not. You can't mate with a beta. Shit, you can't even knot one."
"Yes, you can," Samson said.
The porch went dead quiet. For a moment, no one said anything. They barely even breathed. All the other alphas did was stare at Samson in shock.
"You're saying you knotted Cassidy?" Ty finally asked.
Samson gritted his teeth. He hated sharing their personal business, but right now, he couldn't think of any other way to shut them up…other than cracking their jawbones.
"Three times, so far," he said.
Kian let out a dark chuckle. "Sounds like she fits in here just fine."
Randall scratched the back of his neck thoughtfully. "I've never heard of an alpha knotting a beta before. I didn't think it was possible."
"Neither did I," Samson admitted. "But it is. Cassidy may not be an omega, but she is mine. I need you to either accept that fact or get the fuck out our lives right now."
"You know I don't have a problem," Kian was the first to say.
Randall took a second longer. "I've never liked sticking my nose into anyone else's business. I've got enough trouble with my own."
That just left Ty.
All the alphas looked over at him as he rocked back and forth of his heels, thinking. After a couple seconds, he looked up and nodded grudgingly.
"You're right. If you've knotted her, she's yours," he admitted. "I don't get it, but I guess I don't have to. Besides, you're my friend and my brother. I'm not going anywhere."
Samson nodded and felt some of the tension ease out of his shoulders. Maybe he wouldn't have to knock anyone out today after all.
"Enough," Randall said, dusting his hands off and starting down the stairs. "The women are here to talk, not us. I've got a pile of boards that need planing, and if you want to spend the afternoon on my land, you've got to help me finish them."
* * *
Cassidy followed the sound of women's voices through the house, past a cozy living room, and into an airy kitchen near the back.
Unlike Samson's sturdy cabin, this home bore the unmistakable mark of a woman's touch. Starched white curtains hung at the windows, and the floor was covered in colorful braided rugs. Jars full of wildflowers stood on every surface.
"Cassidy," Mia whisper-shouted out as soon as she stepped into the room.
Cassidy had a feeling Mia would have called her name louder if she wasn't currently rocking a sleeping baby in her arms.
The two omegas sitting at Mia's side swiveled around to greet her. One was younger and holding another infant. The other was a couple decades older, her long hair streaked with silver, and her green eyes set off by laugh lines.
"Hi, I'm Gail," the older omega said. Being the only one without a baby in her arms, she rose from her seat and enveloped Cassidy in a hug. "I'm so glad you could join us!"
"Thank you so much for the invitation," Cassidy stammered, feeling hopelessly awkward.
"Come, sit down and have some tea."
There were two painted china teapots on the table, and Gail started pouring her a cup from the one closest to her.
"I'm Paige," the younger woman said. "Kian's omega." She lifted up the bundle in her hands. "And this is Isobel. Mia is holding Wyatt."
"It's nice to meet you all," Cassidy said, taking the last empty seat. The babies were so cute, and the women's welcome was so genuinely friendly that she already found her nerves starting to settle. "I've heard so much about you all."
"And we've heard all about you," Paige said, a knowing grin pulling at the corner of her lips.
Cassidy was sure they had. Just like that, all her anxiety came roaring back. "I guess there's been a lot of talk."
"Not after Samson knocked Rowan on his ass yesterday," Mia said.
Strangely, that didn't make Cassidy feel a whole lot better. She was sort of hoping the alphas would accept her for who she was and not because they were afraid of Samson's right hook.
But at least the omegas didn't seem to have a problem with her. That was something.
"Good," Gail said, sliding Cassidy's teacup across the table. "That little
shit has been asking to be knocked down a peg or two for a while now."
"Oh, you would have loved it, Gail," Mia said, her eyes lighting up with humor. "The poor thing didn't last two seconds. And he didn't wake up until we were about to lock up the bar."
Really?
Cassidy held back a smile at the news, but immediately suffered a stab of guilt. Still, she knew better than anyone how alpha law and society worked. If the young alpha had wanted to stay upright, he should have never gotten in the bigger alpha's way.
"So, you can tell me to mind my own business, but we are all dying to know," Gail said, her tone making it clear she was changing the subject. "How are things…working out…between you and Samson?"
There wasn't any doubt what the older omega was talking about. Cassidy picked up her teacup, hoping to hide her blush. She took a long sip…
…and sputtered half of it across the table. Red-faced and wide-eyed, she forced herself to swallow the rest. Then she stared over at Gail.
"Is…is this bourbon?"
Laughter lit up the omega's eyes. "Mostly," she admitted. "But there is some tea in there. Earl Grey."
Cassidy gaped as she looked around at the other giggling women at the table. The supposedly timid, docile, and subservient omegas.
"Are you all drinking this?"
"Oh God, no," Mia said. "Paige is still nursing, and I won't be able to drink until long after the pup comes. That's why Gail always makes two pots of "tea" on Tuesdays."
Cassidy blinked. Obviously, she didn't know much about omegas. No one did. There were very few around to study, but she was beginning to think that everything she thought she knew might be wrong.
"Don't think that just because you stained my tablecloth, you get to change the subject," Gail said.
"Was he able to knot you?" Mia asked, leaning forward.
"Have you given him the claiming bite?" Paige added.
Cassidy took another gulp of her "tea", this time knowing full well what was inside the cup. Maybe that wasn't the greatest idea.
After all, the last time she'd downed alpha liquor, she'd ended up in a whole bunch of trouble. But something told her there was no way she was getting through this conversation without a little support.
"Yes," she said, looking at Mia. And then sliding her gaze over to Paige. "And no."
"I knew it," Mia said, sounding victorious. "I've always said you two were destined to be together."
"So, are you planning on claiming him?" Gail asked.
Cassidy frowned, her brows pulling down hard over the bridge of her nose. She had never thought about it. In her mind, the claiming was something between alphas and omegas. After all, only an omega could initiate the bite.
Just like only an omega can coax a knot, she thought.
"I'm not sure," Cassidy answered honestly.
The bite was a sign, not just to each other, but to the community that a couple had entered a permanent bond, one that required the deepest respect. Unlike wedding vows in the beta world, the promise of a claiming bite couldn't be broken.
"Why?" Paige asked, gently smoothing back the hair of the baby in her arms.
Cassidy felt a stab of pain at the sweet sight. That little pup was one reason. She'd probably never be able to have one of those with Samson.
She might love him. She might even be able to coax his knot, but that didn't make her an omega.
And the terrible truth was there might come a time when a real omega came along. One whose nature would come alive at his touch.
It might not be intentional. Hell, it probably wouldn't be. But biology wouldn't care. They would bond, and she would…
"Cassidy," Mia said, reaching for her hand. "Please know you can tell us anything. We're all friends here."
"It's true," Gail said. "If we didn't look out for each other, who would?"
Mia was right. There was no point holding back her fears. After all, it wasn't like she had any reason to act professionally anymore. She didn't have a profession.
"It's just…" she began nervously. "I mean, you all know that I'll never be Samson's real mate."
"What do you mean, 'real mate'?" Mia asked.
"I mean, it doesn't matter how much we love each other," she said. "If Samson ever meets an unclaimed omega in the future, if they ever touch…"
Cassidy couldn't bring herself to say the rest of it. Even thinking about it hurt her heart too much.
Gail sighed. "So, that's what you're afraid of."
"Yeah, sorry," Mia said, shaking her head. "That's not going to happen."
Cassidy blinked. "You can't know that."
"Well, I can't know if he'll ever meet an unclaimed omega," she admitted. "But I know for sure he wouldn't bring out her nature or bond with her."
"How can you know that?"
Mia rolled her eyes, making it seem like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "He's knotted you. A beta. That means that someone up above wants the two of you together," she said.
Cassidy shot her a skeptical look. "You think God has something to do with this?"
"I don't know about that," Gail said gently, "but I do know that once an alpha is claimed, there is no other for him. The bond is set. He would be yours forever, and you would be his. And that would be true no matter who came along—alpha, beta, or omega."
Cassidy found herself smiling a little. "I think you have more faith in Samson's fidelity than I do."
The women exchanged looks.
"Are you serious?" Mia asked. "I've been watching you two for months. Samson has never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. He hasn't even hooked up with one of Nicky's girls since the day he met you."
"He hasn't?"
That was surprising.
Then again, maybe it wasn't. After all, Cassidy hadn't gone out on any dates since she'd started making research trips to the Boundarylands.
"And if you need more proof," Paige said, "Samson was there the night I met Kian. He was in the room when my nature awakened. He was one of the only alphas that didn't start playing tug of war with himself right there in the middle of Evander's."
What?
Cassidy gaped at the omega, not just because she couldn't believe that Samson had resisted the allure of an awakening omega's scent, but because she had definitely never heard that story.
Hell, she could write a whole paper about that moment alone.
Gail reached across the table and gathered Cassidy's hand in hers.
"I know you're afraid," she said. "We've all been there. And I wish I could promise you that things would be easy from now on, but they won't. But I do know that if you claim Samson, he will love, care for, and cherish you forever."
"Thank you," Cassidy said, wiping at the tears that had formed in her eyes. "You know the beta world has omegas all wrong. I was always taught that you were sad, tortured creatures who exist only to breed. But you aren't anything like the stories I heard."
"Tell me about it," Mia said. "Just once I wish someone would tell the beta world what our lives are like."
"What they're really like," Paige agreed, pouring herself some more tea.
Cassidy shifted in her chair as a spark lit up her imagination. She sat up a little straighter.
Everything she'd learned about omegas was wrong.
Okay, maybe not the anatomical and psychological differences, like the libido changes that came on with the first heat. Cassidy had also learned there were personality changes, obedience and subservience chief among them, but clearly those were only one part of it.
Nowhere in her textbooks had she read about teapots filled with bourbon.
Which was a shame. Because if she had, Cassidy might have been more interested in Omega Studies than Alphas Studies.
But as far as she knew, no university had an Omegas Studies course. She had no idea if that was due to a lack of research subjects or a lack of interest by the beta scientific community. And honestly, she didn't care.
All Cassidy knew was
that she was sitting at a table with three lovely omegas who had lives and stories that deserved to be shared with the world.
"I think I might be able to help you with that," she said before downing the rest of the bourbon from her porcelain cup.
Chapter Thirteen
Cassidy's curiosity had blossomed again.
Samson didn't know what had happened inside Gail's house with the omegas to bring her sense of wonder and excitement back to life—and honestly, he didn't want to jinx it by asking. All she'd been willing to tell him was that Gail made a damn good cup of tea.
Even though she was just as silent on the ride home as she had been on the trip over, everything about her was different.
The wheels of her mind were spinning again. The fog of worry had lifted. The constant frown that pulled at the corners of her lips had disappeared as well. Now she teased her lower lip with her teeth, and her gaze was no longer fixed somewhere in the distance. Instead, her eyes flicked back and forth as she stared out the window.
By the time Samson reached his property line, her gaze was starting to flash toward him. Every time it did, the scent of her excitement deepened, changing from excitement to something far more carnal.
Something that made his blood heat and his cock swell.
He only made it past the first dip in the drive before Cassidy leaned over and started kissing his neck.
Damn. What did Gail put in that tea?
Her kisses weren't gentle, either. They had a hunger and force that blindsided him.
Samson hit the brakes, but the truck lurched into the brush before he could kill the engine. Cassidy wasn't deterred by the rough road.
She tugged at his shirt, popping off a button before he could pull his hands from the steering wheel. The scent of her pooling slick filled the cab, causing Samson's cock to strain against the fabric of his jeans.
Wrapping an arm around her waist, he pulled Cassidy over and onto his lap. She stretched her legs wide, trying to straddle his, but there wasn't room. The bench in his truck was designed for an alpha’s size, but not for two. The space was just too cramped.
Letting out a growl of frustration, Samson gathered up both Cassidy and his jacket before getting out of the truck. While the cab might be too small for fucking, the bed definitely was not.
Samson (The Boundarylands Omegaverse Book 3) Page 9