Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 10

My chest ached as I watched her walk away with that damn alpha guard. I hated him on principle. My hands clenched into fists as if urging me to punch him for being in her vicinity, for leading her away from us.

Josie. The perfect omega. My mate.

The second she walked into the room surrounded by a cloud of sweet cupcake scent, I knew she was our fated mate. It was as if the universe aligned, reorienting with her at the center. I had almost lost control, so swept up in my need for her, I forgot where we were. Ben took over, his enthusiasm like a ping-pong ball of energy through the bond. Theo had placed a restraining hand on my arm, and I had forced myself to take a deep breath. Not that it had done much good. All I succeeded in was inhaling more of her potent scent, causing me to get rock-hard.

Alphas and omegas could bond with anyone, but a mate was a perfect match, one who called to our designation and biology. In the past years, the designation-obsessed traditionalists produced propaganda to convince us that fated mates were practically myths. The published studies showed that alpha packs had a one in two hundred thousand chance of finding their mate. Most of us knew those studies were utter shit. I knew a dozen packs who had found their mate. This was a government ploy to convince us to give up the idea of a fated omega and bond with whoever they deemed appropriate.

Even though I knew finding my mate was possible, I gave up on the idea years ago—had given up the idea of bonding with an omega altogether. I refused to coerce an omega, and my pack and I had never found someone compatible with our specific desires. None of that mattered anymore. Everything changed when that sweet little omega with bright green eyes and the most luscious curves I had ever seen walked into the room. I ached to claim her, protect her, do anything I could to make her happy. Even though I didn’t know her yet, I would sacrifice everything for her.

As she walked away from us, she looked back with a sweet, concerned expression. I hated how stressed she was. Nothing should ever make my mate feel that way. She should be fucking happy all the time. It was taking everything in me to let Josie walk away from us when all I wanted to do was wrap her around me and carry her home.

When she disappeared down the hallway, I finally tore my eyes away and looked at my brothers. Ben and Theo had equally desperate looks in their eyes. My emotions were too chaotic to even sense their feelings through the bond.

“Let’s get to the car,” I said quietly, knowing that we couldn’t talk openly here. The DC gave me the creeps, and I knew we were under surveillance.

Ben looked like he was going to say something, so I growled, “To the car.”

As we walked out of the building, my alpha urged me to turn back, to not leave my mate here with these bastards. When she first walked into the interview, I was so overwhelmed, so focused on maintaining my control, that I didn’t notice that she was clearly not okay. She was pale and shaky, her eyes red-rimmed. Had something happened to her before the interview? Or was she upset to be meeting us?

Theo bumped my shoulder as we crossed the lot, and I realized I was growling. I couldn’t get the image of Josie having a panic attack out of my head. What happened to make her anxiety that bad? I needed to know so I could stop it from ever happening again. All I wanted to do was pick her up and cradle her. A small warmth bloomed in my chest at the reminder that I had been able to calm her. I rubbed my fingers together, wishing I could feel her soft skin against mine again.

The car doors slammed as we piled into the car.

Ben exploded, “She’s our mate!”

“I fucking know,” I said, turning to look at Ben from where he was sitting in the back, his eyes wide.

“Wait, what was that weird moment when you first introduced yourself, Theo?” Ben asked. “I could feel your shock through the bond.”

“I… I already met her two days ago,” Theo mumbled, not making eye contact.

Ben and I stared at him in silence.

“You met our mate two days ago and didn’t tell us?” I growled. Anger and betrayal washed over me.

“I didn’t know she was our mate. She was the omega who collapsed at Trader Joe’s. She was covered in scent blocker. I didn’t know she would be here today.”

Being away from Josie was putting me on edge. The pull towards a fated mate was painful to ignore. My inner alpha roared at the fact that she wasn’t safely tucked away in my arms.

“So you didn’t feel anything towards her the other day?” Ben asked.

“I did feel pulled towards her. It was agony letting her leave in the ambulance. I just didn’t know why I felt that way, so I didn’t mention it. I didn’t mean to keep anything from you.” Theo’s hands tapped a rhythm on the steering wheel, the only sign he was on the verge of losing control.

“Important thing is we’ve all met her now,” I said after a long pause. Talking things out was not my strong suit, but if we were going to bring an omega into our pack, we needed to step it up. I could tell Theo still felt bad, so I clasped him on the shoulder.

“She has to choose us,” Theo said, running his hand through his hair, desperation creeping into his voice.

“She’s our mate. Of course, she’s going to choose us,” Ben said, looking between Theo and me for confirmation.

I took a deep breath, trying to slow my pounding heart, catching a hit of Josie’s vanilla scent off my shirt. I worried the DC would coerce her into choosing another pack. I knew too well how the system manipulated omegas and forced them into packs they didn’t choose. Then another horrifying thought gripped me.

“Do you think she knows she’s our mate? Can omegas sense it the same way we can?” I asked.

“She should be able to,” Theo responded. Then he hesitated. “Unless… I remember reading some pre-Designation Government research that suggested omegas on suppressants can’t fully sense the mate connection.”

I growled at the thought that our mate didn’t know we were meant for each other.

“How soon until we find out if she’s chosen us?” Ben asked, his legs bouncing up and down.

“Amirah said she’d be quick to inform us either way. Josie will move in tomorrow if she chooses us. She also said Josie could opt to do additional interviews, although she doubts she’ll go that route since the other packs are all ones her parents want to set her up with.”

“Who are her parents?” I asked.

Now I was kicking myself for not paying attention to her file. I hadn’t wanted to get my hopes up, telling myself I was doing it as a favor for Amirah and the Alliance. But now I wished I had spent the time to learn every single thing I could about my mate. I needed to know everything so I could keep her happy and give her whatever she wanted.

“One of her pack fathers is Jericho Porter,” Theo said.

Ben and I both growled.

“That monster is her pack father?” Ben exclaimed. “No wonder she’s twenty-three and without a pack. I wouldn’t want a pack either if I had grown up with that fucking asshole.” Ben rarely swore. I could feel his emotions unraveling in the bond.

“Shit,” I said. Jericho Porter was a fucking snake. We suspected he had even more influence over the Designation Government agenda than Glen Jacoby. I couldn’t believe our omega had grown up with him.

“I assume she lives with them?” I asked, my jaw tight.

“No, she actually moved out on her own. She lives in an apartment owned by Sam Larsson, an alpha currently working in Sol province,” Theo said, reading off a document on his phone.

“Who is this alpha?” I shouted. “Why is she living in his apartment?” An unhealthy amount of possessiveness surged through me. Was Josie involved with this alpha? Images of hunting him down and tearing his head from his body danced through my brain.

“I’m not sure,” Theo muttered. I could sense his frustration through the bond. Theo prided himself on always being prepared and doing extensive research, but this situation caught us all off guard.

“We’ll wait here to hear from Amirah and then drive to her apartment to watch over her. We can’t leave her alone. We have to make sure she’s protected,” I grunted. An omega living alone was almost unheard of since the Designation Laws, and my inner alpha was growling at how unsafe it was.

Theo and Ben nodded their agreement. I might be the most stereotypically alpha of the three of us, but I knew they would do anything to ensure our mate was safe.

“Did you see how she moved away from us at the end?” Ben asked quietly.

Of course, I had. The image of her flinching, as if she needed to protect herself from us, kept playing back in my mind.

“We’ll need to be careful and take things slow if she’s scared of alphas,” Theo said, a deep sadness permeating his voice.

I would find out who had hurt her and end them. My alpha was feeling bloodthirsty and wanted revenge for our mate.

We lapsed into silence as the next hour stretched on. I stared out of the window into the Designation Center as if staring hard enough would allow me to develop x-ray vision and see Josie wherever she was. I just wanted her to be safe. I had a sense that Josie was stronger than she appeared. She had to be strong to survive as an omega, especially in the pack she grew up in. At the same time, I was concerned about how fragile she was.

Theo’s shrill ringtone cut through the silence, startling me from my thoughts. He shot us a quick look before answering the call.

“Hi Theo, this is Amirah. Are Cam and Ben there?”

“Yes, you’re on speaker,” he responded.

“We’re on an encrypted line so we can speak freely, but it has to be quick. I just came out of the meeting with Josie, Director Marshall, her mother, and two pack fathers. Josie has decided that she wants to join your pack.”

The three of us sighed with relief. Now we had the opportunity to get to know her, court her, and prove to her we were worthy mates. Although I wasn’t sure I could ever be fully worthy of her. She was pure fucking sweetness.

“Josie chose to join your pack, but her parents and the director strongly opposed the decision. They spent the full meeting shouting, trying to convince her that this was a terrible mistake.” Amirah’s voice sounded strained.

I growled. The idea of anyone raising their voice at my mate made me murderous. How dare they try to influence her omega instincts?

Amirah continued, “The updated lab work showed Josie’s heat will start the next day or two. She needs to move in immediately. Her parents insisted on doing the traditional parent meeting and will be at your house tomorrow morning at ten. You need to be prepared and stay very calm. If you give them any sign that you are volatile or in any way unfit to bond with an omega, they will try to remove her. You must do nothing to jeopardize her position in your pack until you’re fully DC approved and bonded.”

“How was she after the meeting?” I asked, angry I hadn’t been there to protect her.

“She’s had a hard couple of days. Being around so many alphas can be overwhelming for any omega, but it’s particularly hard on an unbonded one right before heat. I didn’t have time to talk with her after the meeting, but she will be leaving shortly with Dave to head back to her apartment so she can pack her things.”

“Do you know what she likes? How can we best prepare her room and make her feel at home?” Ben asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve barely gotten to talk with her. She seems smart, brave, and pretty skittish. She has a lot of anxiety, and no wonder with the way her parents treat her.” Amirah’s voice sounded as bitter as I’d ever heard it. I didn’t know how she worked alongside alphas who belittled her on a daily basis, but I had never been more grateful for her leadership in the Alliance.

Amirah continued, “She’s probably going to need to take things slow and to feel like she is in control as much as possible. She needs to have a nest available immediately, and you must remember that you cannot enter the nest without her explicit invitation.”

Theo eyed the phone with hesitation before asking, “Can you tell us if Josie has been on suppressants?”

Amirah was silent for several long moments. “I don’t typically share confidential information, but it might help you prepare better. Yes, she’s been on suppressants. I don’t know the details of her usage, but prolonged suppressant use can cause irregular heats once the omega goes off them. Her heats in the future might be closer together or vary in length.”

I was worried about how the suppressant use would affect Josie’s health long-term, but I glowed with pride that she had managed to be on them for this long without getting caught. Our little omega was smart and resourceful.

“I have to go now, but I’ll pass along to Josie and her parents that you’ll be expecting them at ten tomorrow. I’ll also tell the rest of your Alliance contacts that you’ll be out of communication for the next ten days or so.”

“Let Josie’s parents know we’ll have breakfast for them,” Ben called out.

I shot him a look.

“What? We need to be good hosts. And we need to feed our mate.”

At that, I softened. I didn’t want to host her parents, but Ben was right. We needed to make the meeting as relaxed and seamless as possible for Josie’s sake.

After hanging up the phone, we all sat and stared at each other. Theo, ever the planner and organizer, said, “We need to get the house ready, need to make sure we have plenty of food and stuff for her nest. If she’s going into heat, we won’t be able to leave, so we have to stock up.”

When we bought our house, we hadn’t paid much attention to the nest, assuming we would never have an omega to fill it. Now I thought of the empty room and it made me furious. Why hadn’t we prepared better for her? We should have known that she was out there, waiting for us. Now we didn’t even have a proper nest to offer her.

Theo continued, “One of us needs to make sure that we’re at her apartment tonight. We can take it in shifts.”

I jolted as the front door to the DC opened and Josie walked out with Dave. Our car was partially hidden in a secluded corner of the parking lot, so she likely couldn’t see us. Her shoulders shook, and my heart clenched as I realized she was crying. I opened the car door, ready to run out to her and comfort her. Theo grabbed my arm.

“Cam, we can’t do anything to jeopardize things now. She’s already chosen us, but they could take her away if we do anything outside the rules. She’ll be with us in less than twenty-four hours.”

I snarled, needing to be with her. Josie and Dave neared a large black SUV and he opened the back door for her. That should have been me. A woman was waiting in the back seat and pulled Josie in for a hug. My distress eased slightly that Josie wasn’t totally alone right now. As they pulled away, Theo started the car. I was already counting the minutes until we could bring our mate home.