“What did he want?”
“For me to pass along an invitation to visit his property,” Ty said. “Well, the invitation is really for your omega.”
Kian crossed his arms in front of his chest, instantly on the defensive. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Settle down,” Ty said with a wry smile. “The invitation’s from Gail. Randall and I are just the messengers. Sounds like she’s worried that Paige might be having a hard time adapting to her new nature.”
Kian pressed his lips together tight. Randall’s omega was right. Paige had been content in his arms as he laid her down in his bed, but that might have been because she was still flooded with the endorphins that came from the claiming bite. Who knew how she would feel when she woke up?
Gail, apparently. She was one of only a handful of women in two thousand miles who knew what Paige was going through.
“Tell Randall ‘thank you,’” Kian said. “I’ll bring her out in a couple of days. Just as soon as she’s fully recovered from her heat.”
“That reminds me.” Ty stood up and made his way down to his truck. A moment later, he returned with an armful of women’s clothes. “These are loaners from Gail. She heard about how Paige found her way out here, and thought she might need to borrow some. Randall said when you come out, Gail can show her a few mail-order places that will deliver to the Boundarylands.”
Kian nodded his thanks as he took the neatly folded stack of dresses. “I hadn’t thought about clothes.”
The truth was he wouldn’t mind if Paige walked around all day naked, but that wouldn’t be practical.
“You need anything else?” Ty asked as he retreated down the steps.
“No,” Kian said. “I’ll come by the bar in couple of days after we go out to Randall’s. I can pick up what we need then.”
“Sounds good.” Ty got back in his truck, but paused before starting up the engine. “Have to say, it’s strange to hear you say we.”
Kian raised his hand as his brother drove away.
It was strange for him too.
Chapter Ten
Paige tried not to shift too much in her seat as Kian made the turn off the paved road and onto the shallow dirt tracks that led through the trees. If she lived out here in the Boundarylands for another fifty years, she still wouldn’t understand how the alphas seemed to instinctually know how to navigate through this dense wilderness.
To her all the trees and hills looked the same, just a seas of unending green, but not to Kian. Even though none of these hidden roads were marked, he knew what path led to which alpha’s territory. He knew where the undrawn borders were drawn. He remembered every shrub, every rock, every crest.
The truck jolted as the wheels hit a hole, and Paige grabbed on to the bar over her head. Instantly, Kian’s hand cupped her knee, calming her.
“You’re nervous,” he said.
“Can you blame me?” she asked. “I don’t know these people. And I’ve never met another omega in my life. I’m worried this won’t go well.”
“It’s going to be fine,” he assured her.
Easy for him to say. He was used to this world, but to her this was all brand new. The idea of having a real friend in the Boundarylands thrilled Paige, but what would happen if they didn’t get along? What if the other omega didn’t have a sense of humor, or thought that Paige was too loud and brash, or…
“You worry too much.” Kian raised his arm and draped it around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. A sense of deep contentment swept over her as she let out a breath. She spent the rest of the ride simply enjoying the feeling of his hard body supporting hers.
“Have you ever been out here before?”
“To Randall’s house?” He shook his head. “Never.”
“Why not?”
“Never been invited before.”
Paige tilted her head back and shot him a questioning look. “I take it you guys never show up on each other’s door step unannounced?”
“Not if you want to keep your head attached to your body,” he said. “Shit, we wouldn’t have been able to turn down the road that led to Randall’s if he hadn’t expressly invited us onto his property.”
“And you ask me why I’m nervous,” she mumbled, mostly to herself.
He answered her concern by tightening his grip around her, and another one of those unexplainable waves of calm washed over her.
It had been a couple of days since they’d exchanged bites in the hot spring behind the cabin, and she was still getting used to the sudden depth of the connection between them. She was hoping this visit with another omega would help her straighten a few things out in her mind.
She straightened up as he pulled the truck to a stop by the side of a grassy clearing. A few dozen feet from the road was a well-maintained wooden house that couldn’t have been more different than Kian’s.
Where their cabin was solid and rustic, this two-story house was almost elegant in comparison. The wood was planed and sanded. A winding rock path led to the door and kept garden of wildflowers that ran along the edge of the patio. It looked downright civilized.
Paige blinked in astonishment as she took it in.
“Wow,” she said stepping out of the truck. “This wasn’t what I expected.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Paige spun around at the sound of the feminine voice—the first one she’d heard since entering the Boundarylands. Her heart pounded at the sight of the woman she saw stepping out of the tree line behind her.
To be perfectly honest, the woman wasn’t what she expected either. She looked to be in her mid-forties, medium height, and wore a friendly smile. That was all fine, but there was directness in her pale blue gaze that clashed with Paige’s idea of what it meant to be an omega. Outwardly, there was nothing diminutive or subservient about her.
With a light step, the woman came over and held out her hand. “I’m Gail,” she said.
“I’m Paige. It’s so nice to meet you.”
“Oh darling, you have no idea how happy I am to finally meet you face to face.” She certainly looked it. The other omega was practically beaming. Dispensing with polite handshakes, she pulled Paige in for a hug.
Strangely, Paige didn’t mind at all. The instant warmth between them felt right.
“Where are my manners?” Gail said after finally pulling back. “Come inside and so I can welcome you properly.”
Gail and Kian greeted each other cordially on the way up the path, but Paige was quick to notice there was no handshake. In fact, Kian seemed to be careful to keep a few feet of buffer between him and the other omega.
The inside of the house was just surprising as the outside. There was plenty of light and open space. Framed pieces of landscape art hung on the walls, watercolor scenes alive with splashes of color. Only the overly large size of the furniture and doorways—not to mention the lack of electric lights or appliances—gave away that they were in an alpha’s home.
“Kian,” an unfamiliar voice boomed from above. Paige craned her head back and saw an older alpha standing at the top of the staircase. A hint of gray showed at his temples, but it was obvious at a glance that he was every bit as powerful as Kian.
“Randall,” Kian said, tipping his head slightly. “Thank you for the invitation. Your property is impressive.”
“Thank you,” the older alpha said, depending the stairs. “I’ll show you around while the omegas get to know each other.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
Paige’s brows pulled together slightly as the two men headed for the door. There was something so formal about their interaction. Almost ritualistic. Paige had never seen that side of Kian before.
“Are they always like that around each other? So stiff and…awkward?” Paige asked before she could think better of it.
Gail laughed. Reaching out, she wrapped her hand around Paige’s. “Oh, I like you,” she said. “You’re not timid. You say what’s on yo
ur mind.”
Paige immediately froze. “Did I say something wrong?” she asked.
Gail shook her head. “Not at all. Nothing we don’t all think anyway.”
“Sorry. This is still all so new to me.”
“Which is why I wanted you to come out here as soon as you were able,” Gail said. “I figured you would have some questions.”
Some? Paige had them all. She was nothing but questions. But she decided not to dump them on the poor woman all at once.
“Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate it. I was starting to think I was going to have to figure all this out alone.”
“Oh darling, that’s the greatest thing about this new life of yours. You never have to go through anything alone again.” Gail gave her hand a gentle squeeze. “Come into the kitchen with me. I’ll make us a pot of tea, and we can talk.”
For all her resolve, Paige didn’t last more than a few steps before she asked her first question. “So, are they always like that?”
“Only when they’re not on neutral territory,” Gail explained. She gestured for Paige to take a seat at an expertly carved wood table in the corner of the kitchen, before rummaging through some cupboards. “Places like the Central Road or Evander’s Bar. But once an alpha steps foot onto another’s property, there’s a whole set of rules that has to be followed to show respect.”
“And if they don’t show respect?” Paige asked.
Gail turned around with a box of tea and a china pot in her hand. “Things would get bloody…fast.”
So Kian hadn’t been exaggerating. Territory and property were sacred as far as alphas were concerned.
“And we’re property?” Paige said.
Gail gave another laugh. “Is that what Kian told you? Looks like I’m going to have a word with that pup.” She shook her head as she went over to the stove and picked a steaming kettle off of the stove. “We’re their property like a holy relic or a piece of scripture is property. We are theirs, but we are sacred. We are theirs to worship and protect.”
Paige sucked in a breath at the description. She’d never heard omegas described that way. Never. They were always talked about as something to be pitied, something to be ashamed of. Never as something powerful.
But that’s exactly how Gail was making them sound.
The older omega placed the tea pot on the table and took a seat across from Paige. “I know what you’re going through is big and scary, you should also know that it’s nothing short of a miracle. Your life is going to change in fulfilling ways that you couldn’t even imagine.”
A flash of heat rushed to Paige’s cheeks. “You’re talking about the sex?”
Gail shrugged. “That’s a big part of it, sure. It’s hard not to feel bad for all those betas stuck back in the city who don’t know what they’re missing. But it’s more than that. The connection between you two is only just now beginning. It grow stronger in time.”
Paige tossed her head. That couldn’t possibly be true. She was overwhelmed with closeness she felt to Kian right now. She wasn’t sure she could handle the thought of it becoming more intense. “I think we’re fine the way we are.”
Another laugh filled the kitchen. “You are adorable. You’d think by now you would have realized that no one gets a vote in any of this. The connection between an alpha and an omega is nature in action. It can’t be controlled.”
Gail leaned forward and poured the tea. Paige tried a smile as she took her cup. It must have come off as insincere as she felt though, because the other omega’s brows pulled together in concern.
“I know it’s hard to believe now, but everything is going to be okay,” she said. “You’re right where you’re supposed to be.”
Paige let out a breath. It was a nice thought. She even wanted to believe it, but how could she when she could barely keep track of the changes that were happening inside her every day? One moment she was felt sedate and calm in Kian’s presence; in the next she was overwhelmed with profound feelings of hunger and lust.
Only a week ago, her life had been so planned out and safe. Now it was chaotic and every emotional swing felt like whiplash. It was hard to believe that any of this was supposed to happen.
“That’s easy for you to say,” Paige said. “I mean look at this place. I’ve been to B&Bs that were shabbier.”
“It wasn’t always like this. Believe me.”
“Really?”
“Oh God, no.” Gail chuckled softly before taking a sip from her cup. “When Randall first dragged me out here, this place was a single story shack. Everything you see has been added and refined over twenty-three years of mated bliss.”
Wow. “Twenty-three years?” Paige tried to keep the surprise out of her voice, but it slipped out anyway. “And you’re…happy?”
Gail patted her hand. “Oh darling, I’m better than happy. And bound to be happier now that there’s another omega living so close. To be honest the only thing I have missed is some female friends.”
Paige could understand that. The thought of living around nothing but alphas for the rest of her life had worried her too.
“How did you end up here in the first place?” Paige asked.
Gail seemed like such a nice lady, funny and friendly. The kind of woman who had a whole cupboard of china cups even though she knew no one was coming over for tea. The type who didn’t mind lending her clothes to complete strangers. In Paige’s experience that usually wasn’t the kind of woman that crossed over the boundary on a whim.
“The usual story—I was young and in love,” Gail said.
Paige scrunched her brow down tight. “With Randall?”
“Dear God, no,” the omega laughed. “With a twenty-one-year-old poetry major at college. We were traveling up to Vancouver for spring break. He wanted to spend some time gazing out at the water and writing about whales. He decided we should shave a couple hours off the trip by cutting through on the Central Road instead of taking the highway all the way around. I didn’t want to, of course. Told him it was a terrible idea, but you know how men are.”
Yes, she did.
At least Gail didn’t have to find out that her hard-headed poet was really a drug-dealing murderer.
“As fate would have it, his VW bus overheated a few miles past the border, and guess who spotted us on the highway.”
“Randall,” Paige said.
“Poor Joe didn’t know what hit him,” she laughed. “One second he was trying to pull the cap off a steaming radiator, and the next his girlfriend is being carried off into the woods caveman style.”
Paige sputtered on her tea. “Randall threw you over his shoulder?”
“Not really,” Gail said, waving her hand. “But it’s more fun to remember it that way. The truth is I freaked out at the sight of a real live alpha and bolted into the woods. Randall chased after me so I wouldn’t run off a cliff in my panic. When he caught me and grabbed onto my arm, everything changed.”
That was an understatement. Paige let out a long breath, remembering the sudden awakening that had shocked her system when she’d first touched Kian. How wonderful it had felt. Then how frightening.
She was still feeling the aftershocks of that moment.
“Did it ever settle down?” The hope in Paige’s voice rang out loud and clear. “The way you feel when...”
Her voice trailed off. Apparently, not all of her beta-world manners had been stripped away. There were still some things she couldn’t say to strangers.
“When we touch?” Gail finished for her.
Paige sheepishly nodded.
“No,” the other omega said. “Not even a little. As far as I’m concerned Randall can throw me over his shoulder any time.”
Paige raised her tea and took her time taking the next sip. That was a lot to think about. Twenty-three years and they’re still going strong. She did her best to cover her red cheeks with her cup as she asked the next question—the one she really wanted to know the answer to.
“And what about your heat?”
“Yep. Still happens,” Gail answered without a hint of embarrassment. “Every full moon, just like clockwork. Though you’d think by now nature would have gotten the hint that it wasn’t going to work.”
“What do you mean?”
For the first time since Paige had stepped down from the truck, the smile on Gail’s face slipped. “I had leukemia as a child. The chemotherapy that saved my life also made me infertile.”
Without thinking, Paige reached across the table and wrapped her hand around Gail’s. “I’m so sorry.”
The omega immediately shook her head. “Don’t be. It wasn’t in the stars for us. Just promise me you’ll make me your children’s godmother as your family grows.”
Paige’s hand trembled as a shiver ran up her spine.
Children. A family.
Of course, she knew that was what her heat was for, but the thought of breeding was still terrifying.
“If I survive, you mean.”
Gail’s gaze narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
“Growing up at school, they told us all kinds of horror stories about what would happen to omegas during childbirth. That the alpha babies would be too large. That they would rip the poor omega in half.”
The older omega’s eyes lit up with laughter. “Oh yeah. It’s been so long, I forgot all the crap they taught us,” she said. “The reality is that a beta woman has a much higher chance of dying in childbirth than you and I.”
“You’re sure?”
“Think about the pounding our bodies take every month during our heat,” Gail said. “How can we stand up to that, enjoy the hell out of it, and be delicate little flowers that will crumble under the slightest strain? It just doesn’t make any sense.”
She was right.
“So it was all lies?” Paige asked.
“Most of it,” Gail answered. “A few things were true. Like your children will most likely be like you and Kian. Betas are as rare to alpha and omega parents as we are in the ordinary world.”
Kian: The Boundarylands Omegaverse: M/F Alpha Omega Romance Page 9
