Cassidy #2
Harlan mutters something under his breath that sounds suspiciously like, “Hopeless.”
Evander starts handing mugs around without another argument. The green mug goes to Isaac, the yellow to Silas, the white to Harlan, leaving the purple and blue on the tray.
He grins at me, handing over the purple mug. “For you, little daisy. Be careful because it’s hot.”
His smile is warm, and his scent goes pleased when I accept the mug. I breathe it in before taking it carefully.
“Thank you.”
He nods once before picking up the final mug for himself and drops down onto the end of Isaac’s chair, immediately starting to fix his tea.
Everyone is relaxed. Their scents are settled and familiar, layered through the room like they belong there.
Well, apart from me.
Nobody makes a fuss.
And yet, here I am.
Evander places his mug on the coffee table, leaning back with an exaggerated sigh. “I’m exhausted.”
“You carried tea ten feet,” Isaac points out.
Silas shakes his head, and Harlan immediately makes a comment about Van’s stamina.
I stay standing, holding the too warm mug between my hands, as I look between them all.
Everyone else seems to know exactly where they’re supposed to be. Like they belong here.
But I just… I don’t know what to do.
My gaze flicks to the empty space beside Harlan.
Then the gap between Isaac and Evander.
Then to the space on Silas’s sofa.
Do I sit beside Harlan? We came here together.
But would that make it seem like I’d chosen him over the others?
Isaac would have been the safest, but what if he’s still smarting about our conversation this morning?
Oh, fuck me.
Do people normally have to think this hard about sitting down?
Maybe I should sit on the floor, next to the coffee table, and then I’m not choosing anyone.
No, Cassie, don’t.
Who voluntarily sits on the floor when there are perfectly good sofas? They’ll think I’m weird, and it’ll become a whole thing, and I should just… stand.
Standing is neutral. No choices to make. No feelings to upset.
Then again, nobody else is standing, so then they might think I’m strange.
Wonderful. This is wonderful.
I tighten my grip around my mug.
Don’t overthink it, Cassie.
Too fucking late.
“Cassie, love,” Van murmurs, and I look up at him in surprise. “Where’s your head at, little daisy? You missed my joke.”
“It wasn’t funny,” Harlan reassures me, smirking at the other alpha.
I bite my lip, trying to figure out how to reply, what to say, and Silas seems to realise how much I’m struggling.
He pats the empty cushion beside him.
“Come here, moonlight.”
The invitation is perfect, and nobody seems bothered by it. My feet carry me over before my brain can invent another five disastrous possibilities.
I perch carefully on the edge of the chair, balancing my mug on one knee, keeping my head down.
I wonder if I’ve made the wrong decision.
Should I—no, I can’t move now.
I stare determinedly into my tea, at the black, swirling liquid I wish I could add milk to, while my scent curls tighter with every second I don’t move.
Isaac reaches across the coffee table, past the cluster of mugs and scattered sugar packets, and steals a chocolate biscuit.
Before he can take a bite, Evander leans over and snaps it neatly in half, shoving his stolen bit into his mouth.
I gasp, and Silas grins at me.
“What the fuck?” Isaac demands, glaring at the alpha.
“You weren’t eating that bit.”
“I was about to,” Isaac argues. “There’s more right there. You could have just leant forward.”
Harlan sighs into his mug. “I buy those specially for me. Where did you even find them?”
“Silas pointed them out,” Evander says cheerily.
Silas shrugs at his brother. “It was either yours or nothing.”
Harlan rubs a hand down his face. “You’re all so fucking greedy.”
I giggle as they continue teasing and joking. But I’m struggling to relax.
I’m on edge waiting for the tension or the competitiveness. For one alpha scent to sharpen against another.
It never comes.
Isaac rolls his eyes without any real irritation. Evander grins like he’s won something deeply important.
Silas looks profoundly unimpressed. Harlan somehow manages to look annoyed and fond at exactly the same time.
They’re comfortable together. Like none of this is hard for them.
The knot in my stomach tightens, and I place my mug on the coffee table so I don’t spill anything.
Silas leans in and tugs me back ever so slightly so I’m not in danger of falling off the sofa any longer.
Silas sets his mug down on the coffee table with a soft clink.
His gaze moves around the room once, briefly meeting each of theirs before settling on me.
“Okay,” Si says quietly, his own scent steadying before mine can spiral any further. “I can’t ignore the panic in your scent any longer, little moon. I think it’s time we put your mind at ease.”
“I am very fond of that plan,” Evander says, nodding.
I shiver as they each look at me. Nobody seems to be annoyed or angry. They’re not even as intense as I know they can be.
But having all their attention on me gives me butterflies and goosebumps.
I just don’t know whether it’s from fear… or something else entirely.
Put your mind at ease.
That sounds lovely, but it’s not something that has ever managed to occur before.
Silas doesn’t move closer. For some reason, that makes my chest ache more than if he had.
He stays exactly where he is, beside me but not crowding, his hand resting loosely against the arm of the chair near my thigh, close enough to take if I want to.
“I don’t…” I swallow, my gaze dropping to my hands. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”
Harlan exhales quietly through his nose. “This isn’t a test, Cassidy. This is our pack getting on the same page for the first time.”
My head snaps up in surprise. My fingers curl into the edge of Silas’s sleeve before I realise I’ve reached for him.
His hand turns palm up, waiting, but not pressuring. Offering comfort rather than taking it.
My breath shakes as I slide my fingers into his, squeezing gently.
“Our pack,” I repeat.
Silas’s thumb brushes once across the side of my hand.
“Our pack,” he says without a hint of hesitation.
Our pack.
Not their pack.
Not the pack.
Ours.
“I thought…” I swallow, but my throat feels too tight. “I thought you were all still deciding.”
Evander’s brows pull together. “Deciding on what?”
“On whether… this is worth it.”
The second the words leave my mouth, I regret them.
They sound awful, and not what I meant at all.
I try to pull my hand from Silas’s because suddenly I need both of mine to apologise properly, but his fingers close gently around it.
“Cassidy,” Harlan says, and his voice is low and husky. “No one here is questioning your worth.”
My eyes burn. “I didn’t mean—”
“You did,” he says gently, his stern mouth softening. “And we’re not holding that against you.”
Isaac leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “We’re deciding how to stop being idiots.”
Evander exhales sharply. “Speak for yourself. I’m not an idiot.”
“Anymore,” Harlan quips, and Evander flips him off.
“This isn’t about making decisions for you,” Silas says. “And it isn’t about rushing you into something because these idiot’s brains have finally caught up with what we already knew.”
A strange quiet settles over the room, broken only by the soft clink of Evander setting his mug down, but none of them seem bothered by it.
Evander eats biscuits, Harlan’s eyes are closed, and Silas stays steady by my side.
I look at Isaac for help, and he smiles.
“We have been talking,” he admits, glancing briefly around the room before looking back at me. “Quite a lot, actually.”
Heat floods my face, and my scent sours enough that all four of them notice.
“About… me?” I whisper.
“About us,” Isaac corrects gently. “About how we make this work without putting any more pressure on you.”
“I thought…” I trail off.
“What?” Harlan asks quietly.
I hesitate, then shrug because it somehow feels safer than answering. I don’t really know how to explain my thoughts to them.
Not when they now feel so certain about our bond, and I’m still too many steps behind.
“Don’t worry about wording things perfectly, little moon,” Silas says calmly. “Share your thoughts, and we’ll discuss them. We’re big men, we’re not going to get upset.”
Evander smirks at Harlan. “Well, some of us are.”
“Fuck off, I’m much bigger than you,” Harlan hisses.
“I thought maybe you were deciding who should… back away,” I say, cutting off the arguing.
Though good-natured it may be.
Harlan frowns. “Back away?”
“So the others could…” I swallow roughly, my chest too tight to breathe normally. “I don’t know. Have a better chance?”
A surprised laugh escapes Evander. “Daisy, none of us have been trying to convince anyone else to step aside.”
“We’ve mostly been telling each other when we’ve been idiots,” Isaac says dryly.
Silas hums in agreement. “I’ve yet to have to confess anything, but I have been a witness to their meltdowns.”
Harlan pinches the bridge of his nose. “Really, Brother?”
Despite myself, I smile.
“Something we’ve all agreed on,” Isaac says, “is that we don’t make you deal with any arguments between the four of us.”
“You shouldn’t have to navigate four stubborn men who all thought they were helping,” Silas adds, rubbing his thumb over the back of my hand.
“I haven’t argued,” Harlan mutters at the exact same time as Evander.
“I don’t think I understand,” I say softly. “Isn’t… I mean, I’m the omega. Surely, my job is to—”
“I’m cutting you off because I want to make something abundantly clear, little luxury,” Harlan says, leaning forward on his knees, his hazel eyes fixed on mine.
Fuck, I should not be perfuming to that.
“You do not have an assigned job based on your designation,” he says. “In our pack, any roles we have will be something we figure out together and will always be subject to change.”
“Like the fact that Isaac will never be permitted to make tea,” Evander says, winking at me. “But if he did decide to take a tea making class, then maybe we’d give him a trial.”