Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 14

I paced the kitchen, each movement laced with agitation at being away from Josie. Her sweet vanilla scent clung to my skin and clothes, making me grow hard. Fuck, having her on my lap, pressed against my cock, had been the sweetest form of torture I’d ever experienced. I wanted to camp out by her door just in case she needed something, but that probably didn’t send the right message after she’d asked for space. Leaving her, even to just go downstairs, felt wrong. She’d looked so tired and vulnerable in the room. I hoped she would at least be able to sleep.

I knew I needed to back off and take things slowly, but it went against my instincts. I had no doubts about our mate and couldn’t wait until she trusted me to take care of her like she deserved. My alpha was riding me to have a courting gift ready for her when she got up, but I couldn’t think of anything to get her that would be special enough.

“Shit,” Theo said, leaning over the kitchen island and looking at his tablet with disgust.

“What?” I asked, distracted by an article I found online: Forty-two failsafe courting gifts for your omega.

“The DC sent over this Omega Care Instruction booklet for us,” Ben said, anger seething from him through the bond.

My skin crawled with dread.

“Brace yourself. It’s fucking disgusting,” Theo said as he handed me the tablet.

I grabbed it and started skimming the multi-page document, white-hot rage pulsing through me the further I read.

I could hear my heartbeat in my ears as other sounds fell away. The “sample diet” wasn’t enough food for a small child to subsist on, let alone an adult omega woman. Josie was curvier than most omegas, and she was perfect. I didn’t give a fuck about her weight. Reading that they’d practically starved her made me want to feed her right now.

“What the fuck is this about vaginal tightness?” I asked, my voice deathly quiet.

“I don’t know,” Theo snarled as he paced the kitchen.

“Does that mean someone touched her? What kind of examination is that?” Ben asked, his voice growing louder. Theo shushed him, not wanting Josie to overhear.

“What are they doing with omegas at that fucking academy?” I asked, my horror growing as I flipped through more of the document outlining Josie’s “significant behavioral issues.”

There were pages and pages of similar statements documenting near-constant punishment sessions.

“What the fuck is a disciplinarian alpha?” I growled, accidentally snapping the tablet in two.

“I didn’t think the Academy was good, but I didn’t realize it was…” Ben trailed off, looking stunned.

“I’m going back up to check on her,” I said, throwing the tablet in the trash.

“She said she wanted space,” Theo said, although I knew through the bond he was longing to be with her.

“Don’t give a fuck,” I growled. “She’s alone and vulnerable and has been treated like shit by everyone, apparently. I need to make sure she’s okay.”

I stormed off, taking the stairs two at a time, only hesitating once I was outside her room, breathing hard with the anger and adrenaline pumping through my system. They hurt our mate. We need to end them.

My alpha and I were in total agreement. I needed to touch her, scent her, and make sure she was okay, but I couldn’t bring myself to barge into her room. It was obvious now why she didn’t want to be around us. Shit, she probably didn’t want to be here at all.

We could move her to the pool house if she wanted more space. The thought filled my chest with hollow despair and I sank to the floor, resting my back against her door. I already knew I couldn’t refuse my mate anything that would make her more comfortable, but the thought of being separated from her, of her not wanting to be near us, was agonizing. Just then, there was a click of a door handle, and I fell onto my back as the bedroom door swung open.

Josie peered down at me, confusion written all over her tear-streaked face. I scrambled to my feet and we stood in silence. I hesitated before opening my arms to her. She immediately launched herself into my embrace.

Relief washed through me. I didn’t know what had made her cry, but she wanted me to comfort her, trusted me enough to seek my touch. I pushed away my fears that I would let her down, that I would fail to protect her like I had my sister. Right now, she needed me. It was the greatest fucking feeling in the world.

I gently picked her up and her legs curled around me tightly. Her head rested on my shoulder and she let out a long, shuddering breath, her eyes fluttering closed. Nothing would ever feel better than this, than having her safe in my arms. I lay down on the bed, arranging her so she was sprawled out on top of me, one of my hands gripping her upper thigh and the other rubbing her back in a gentle rhythm.

“Rest now, baby girl. I’ve got you,” I murmured.