Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 26

I buried my face in the blanket and took a few deep breaths, trying to process everything Jewel had said. There was a gentle knock at the door.

“Josie, can we come in?” Cam asked, his voice as soft and hesitant as I’d ever heard it.

“Yeah,” I responded, feeling suddenly shy.

Were they upset with me? With Jewel?

Cam, Ben, and Theo shuffled into the room, eyes downcast. They stood in front of me by the bed but didn’t move to get closer or touch me.

“We’re sorry,” Ben blurted out. “We messed up. We wanted this to be a good surprise and courting gift, but obviously it wasn’t. We should have asked you first.”

My lips parted in surprise. Had an alpha ever apologized to me?

“Thank you,” I responded, unable to meet their eyes. “I’m sorry I ruined the present.”

“You don’t apologize,” Cam growled. “We’re the ones who messed up, sweetheart. I’m sorry.”

The tightness in my chest eased.

“You were upset when we told you Jewel was coming over and you didn’t say anything. Why?” Cam asked, his brow furrowed with concern.

“I didn’t want to be an inconvenience. Or make you think I’m crazy and hormonal.”

“Baby girl, I’m crazy and hormonal. Fuck, my alpha won’t shut up about needing to protect you and feed you and give you a shit ton of presents,” Cam said.

“You’re allowed to need things, you and your omega both,” Theo said tenderly.

Finally, I looked up, meeting each of their gazes. They looked so genuine and unsure. Theo kept ruffling his hair, and Cam shifted from side to side.

“Will you sit next to me?” I asked.

The three of them moved to the bed instantly. Cam settled against the headboard so I could lean back on him with Ben and Theo beside me.

“We’re going to be better at listening, precious,” Ben said, kissing my cheek. “What do you need?”

I hesitated, wringing my hands until Theo gathered them in his, soothing his fingers down my palms.

“I don’t need to stay in bed all the time,” I said. “I’d like to go outside. Unless…”

“Unless what, love?” Theo asked.

“Unless you don’t want to be seen with me?” I whispered.

I heard a sharp intake of breath.

“Baby girl, no. That’s not… Fuck.” Cam pulled me so I was fully leaning on his chest.

“Of fucking course we want to be seen with you,” he said. “Except I’m feeling possessive as fuck right now.”

“We’re unsettled because you’ve been in pain the past few days and we couldn’t help you,” Theo said.

My eyes glanced over at the side table, which currently housed the vibrating dildo. Theo cleared his throat, and I realized he was blushing. He was so cute.

“Well, couldn’t help as much as we wanted,” he said. “But that’s our problem, not yours. You understand, angel?”

I nodded, leaning closer to Theo to breathe in his warm coffee scent.

“We’re not going to be angry if you tell us we’re being idiots,” Ben said with a cheery smile. “I tell these two all the time.”

Theo huffed in annoyance before winking at me.

“What do you want to do right now, precious?” Ben asked, wrapping his arm around my waist. “We could go out somewhere?”

I let my body relax into his. I was worn out, and my omega wouldn’t rest until the room felt right again.

“It smells wrong in here,” I said.

“Well, we can’t have that, can we?” Ben asked, nuzzling the top of my head.

I glanced at him, unsure if he was mocking me, but saw only sincerity on his face.

“What do we need to do to fix it, angel?” Theo asked, squeezing my hands.

“Umm, we need to open the windows to air it out. And I need your scents back on the nest.” Jewel’s words echoed in my head. I still felt uneasy demanding anything from my alphas, but I couldn’t be passive.

“That’s what we’ll do then, sweetheart,” Cam said, giving me a squeeze before releasing me.

The guys moved around the room, opening the windows and balcony doors. I adjusted the placement of the bedding and blankets. I didn’t feel the same urge to nest anymore, but I still wanted to make sure the bed was layered with soft things and filled with my mates’ scents. After arranging everything, I noticed the guys standing close to the bed and staring at me.

“What’s next, precious?” Theo asked.

“I need your scents on the bed.”

Ben’s eyes sparkled with mischief right before he flung himself on the mattress, taking me down in a gentle tackle. I giggled, the stress of the past few hours melting away with each messy kiss he planted on my face. I squealed and pushed him away. Cam and Theo moved onto the bed until all three were pressed against me.

“Do we need to do anything else?” Cam asked, brushing my hair from my face.

“It would probably work better if you took your shirts off,” I said, snuggling deeper into the bedding.

“You trying to get us naked, precious?” Ben asked with a laugh.

I sniffed, feigning indifference. “Just saying that’s what you would do if you wanted this to work best.”

“Naughty girl,” Cam asked, rolling until he was on top of me, his arms bracketing me on both sides.

“Skin-to-skin does encourage the releasing of pheromones,” Theo said.

“See?” I said with a smirk. “It’s science.”

“Well, if it’s for science, I guess I have to,” Cam said, stripping off his shirt. His chest was hard and muscled above me, and I couldn’t resist dragging my fingertips down the expanse of smooth skin.

“Fuck, that feels so good,” Cam groaned, his hardness pressing against me.

I tugged on Cam’s arms until he allowed his weight to press down on me. The pressure was comforting as adrenaline seeped from my body, leaving me exhausted.

After a few minutes, Cam shifted us so I was lying on top of him. “Rest if you need to, baby girl.”

I bit my lip, wondering if I could make a request. God, Jewel was right. If I was this scared to ask my alphas for something I wanted, how would I do anything useful with my life?

“Do you think we could maybe go out tomorrow? Like, for food?” I hated how timid my voice was, but at least I had asked the question.

“Yes! I have so many restaurants I want to take you to,” Ben burst out. “I have a list here on my phone.”

My eyes widened as he handed me his phone with an endless list of restaurants.

“I haven’t heard of most of these,” I said.

Sam and I used to sneak out to eat when we were teens, his alpha status offering me protection when we were out and about, but we had always been working with a shoestring budget. I doubted our favorite hot dog cart made the list.

I scrolled back up to the top of the note and noticed the heading: Places to take my mate. I blinked quickly to keep myself from crying.

I handed the phone back to him and realized Cam and Theo hadn’t said anything. I eyed them carefully. Pack Ashwood didn’t have a strong hierarchy like the packs I’d grown up with, but I knew I needed Theo and Cam’s approval for the plan.

Cam’s grip on me tightened, and his chest moved with his deep inhale and exhale.

“We’ll have to choose someplace safe and private,” Theo said, his serious gaze falling on Ben, who nodded.

I held my breath, waiting for Cam’s response. “Send a couple restaurant options to our team, Ben, so they can scope things out,” he said, his voice hard.

I moved up his body so I could see his face. Was he angry at my request? His brown eyes were filled with warmth and tenderness.

“We would love to take you out, sweetheart. And you did so good, asking for what you needed.”

I buried my face in the crook of his neck, my chest filling with a strange mix of emotions that felt a little bit like love.