Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 33

Theo took a circuitous route to the gym. He held my hand, but his other was tense on the wheel, and his eyes kept darting to the rearview mirror.

“Do you really think there’s someone following us?” I asked as he took another unnecessary turn.

He shot me a quick smile and squeezed my hand. “No, I don’t think so. But I’m not taking any chances with your safety.”

Finally, we pulled into the small alleyway leading to the back entrance.

“Remember, don’t step outside until you see me pull up. Call me if you need anything or want me to come get you early. I’ll be right upstairs in the gym.”

I hid my smile at his fussing.

“I know, Theo. I’ll be super careful, promise.”

He looked like he would start lecturing again, so I leaned over the center console and kissed him. I loved how pillowy soft his lips were, loved the warmth of him as his coffee scent intensified. He wrapped his hand around my neck and deepened the kiss. I moaned at the feel of his tongue against mine, our breaths coming faster. I strained against my seatbelt, trying to press my body against his.

Theo broke away from me with a groan.

“Fuck, angel, I can’t go into the gym covered in your scent. The other alphas will lose their shit.”

I whined. I wanted him to be covered with my scent, wanted everyone to know that he was mine.

Theo smirked, taking in my scowl. “You’re a possessive little thing, aren’t you?”

I huffed and unbuckled my seat belt. His statement stung. Was he criticizing me? Maybe he pushed me away because he didn’t want me.

Before I could get the door, Theo was there, holding it open and offering me his hand. I refused it and got out of the car on my own, crossing my arms. Theo gently placed his fingers under my chin, lifting it so I was forced to look into his warm brown eyes.

“Have I mentioned how much I love that you’re possessive of me, angel? Because I’m possessive as fuck over you.” He planted little kisses down the side of my face and I melted into him. I was feeling extra vulnerable with my other two alphas gone. I knew they had to leave for work, but my omega felt rejected.

“You owe me kisses later,” I said, still not liking that he had stopped me in the car.

“We could just leave and have kisses now,” he suggested, running his hand down my arm.

“Nope,” I said. “You pushed me away, so now you have to wait.”

Theo growled, pressing me back until I was against the car.

“You like teasing me, little omega?”

My heart pounded, and I wanted more. I wanted to feel his cock pressed against my core, wanted to know what it would be like to feel him inside me.

His body stilled before he backed away. “Fuck! This is all your fault for being irresistible. Now I’ve got to use fucking de-scenter spray. Get inside before I put your cute little ass back in this car and take you home.”

My inner omega preened with satisfaction that we had caused our alpha to lose control. I practically skipped the few steps to the back entrance stairwell as Theo kept a firm grip on my hand and scanned the alley again.

“Behave yourself,” he said sternly, placing a quick kiss on my forehead and adjusting his pants before heading back to the car.

When I stepped into the dim basement, Clementine, Poppy, and Westin were by the door, staring at me with huge grins.

“Why didn’t you bring in your alpha, Josie? We haven’t seen this one before. He looks soooo sexy and mysterious,” Poppy said, a mischievous expression on her face.

My omega snarled, not liking anyone talking about our alpha.

“Poppy, do you want to get attacked?” Westin asked, a smirk on her face.

“Don’t worry, Josie. He’s all yours. My alphas keep me plenty busy. Although I don’t have one with a sexy British accent,” Poppy mused, twirling her curly blonde hair.

Possessiveness seized me. Poppy was my friend and I knew she was teasing, but part of me wanted to tackle her.

Clementine threw her arm around me. “It’s not like you would be successful, Poppy,” she said. “Theo only has eyes for Josie.”

That’s right, he only wants me. A thrill went through me as I realized I believed my own words. I still wasn’t sure why they wanted me when they could have anyone else. But they had chosen me, made clear their attraction to me.

“Where’s Luc?” I asked, looking around.

“He had to deal with some issue upstairs. He said we should get started on our warm-ups,” Clementine said.

“I don’t want to,” Westin whined, lying down on a mat.

I raised my eyebrows. Westin was usually so focused, never one to complain. As I examined her more closely, I saw she looked paler than usual, her eyes squinting as if the basement lights were bothering her.

“I’m just tired today,” she said with a shrug, averting her gaze.

I bit my lip, wanting to press her further, when Poppy interrupted my train of thought.

“I think we should forget about the warm-ups. I need girl time,” Poppy said, flopping down next to Westin before turning back to me with a playful smirk. “Josie, I want to hear how things are going with your alphas.”

I scowled at her.

“I pinky promise no more teasing. They’re your alphas. I would never dare try to get between you and them.” She held out her pinky towards me.

“Okay,” I said, squeezing her pinky with mine. “I forgive you.”

Poppy beamed and patted the spot on the mat beside her, and I lowered myself down.

“Are you happy with them?” Westin asked, her earnest eyes meeting mine.

“Yeah, I am,” I said. “I was so scared to join a pack, scared to even be around alphas. But they’re the best. They make me feel so safe.”

I thought I saw longing in Westin’s eyes. Did she want a pack?

“Aww!” Poppy said. “Look at that ridiculous smile on your face.”

It had been so long since I had other girls to talk to. The vulnerability of opening up clawed at my stomach, but I needed to process everything that was happening.

I took a deep breath. “But I feel so… needy all the time? Is something wrong with me?”

“What do you mean?” Clementine asked, leaning her chin on her knees from her spot across from me.

“Cam and Ben left this afternoon for a work thing, and they won’t be back until the morning. I know they’re not going to be gone for long, but I already miss them, and I feel all raw inside.”

Poppy nodded. “That’s totally normal. The first time one of my alphas left the house to go to the store, I sobbed the whole time they were gone. Freaked them all the fuck out,” she said with a smirk. “The fact that you’re not bawling right now means you’re doing leaps and bounds better than I did. Us omegas are needy. It’s how we’re made. It gets easier, but you shouldn’t feel bad about it. And your alphas should definitely help you when you’re feeling that way.”

The weight on my chest lessened at her words. What I was experiencing was normal. That didn’t mean I liked it, especially after a year of almost complete independence, but at least there wasn’t something wrong with me.

“Okay, I’ve been dying to know—have you had sex yet?” Poppy asked, practically bouncing on her spot on the mat.

“Poppy! Not everyone is as comfortable talking about sex as you are,” Westin said.

“But I want to know! Did you see how he pressed her against the car? That was so hot.”

My face was on fire. “Umm, no. We haven’t.”

“Why not?” Poppy asked, looking as if I had stolen her favorite toy.

“I want to,” I said quietly. I knew no one could hear us, but I still felt like this subject required hushed voices. “With the other two guys gone, I thought Theo and I might…”

“Tonight?” Poppy squealed loudly.

“Shh,” I said, lunging at Poppy.

“No one can hear us,” she said, laughing.

“Theo is upstairs,” I hissed.

“Okay, fine, fine. I’ll be quiet,” Poppy said.

“So you’re thinking tonight?” Clementine asked gently.

“I don’t know,” I groaned, flopping back on the mat. “I’m scared.”

“What are you scared of?” Clementine asked, her eyes wide.

“Mostly that I’ll freak out… that it will remind me of what happened at the DA.” My voice was a hoarse whisper, my gaze focused on a crack in the cement brick wall.

Clementine’s hand gently landed on top of mine. “I don’t know exactly what you went through, but I’m sorry it happened.”

I nodded, still averting my gaze.

“There’s no rush to do it,” Westin said gently. “Do you feel like they’re pressuring you?”

“No, not at all,” I said, biting my lip. “But I think I want to do it? I don’t know.” I covered my face with my arms. “I want to have sex with Theo. With all of them. I don’t want what happened at the DA to control me, to make me scared forever. But what if I lose it on him?”

“So what if you do?” Poppy said. “If he’s worthy of you, he’ll understand and be kind about it.”

I shifted my arms to glance at Poppy.

“Look, I don’t know what happened at the DA after I left, but I’ll never forget what you looked like when I saw you after you got out. You scared the shit out of me. It was like you were dead. And the past few weeks, it feels like you’ve come back to life again,” Poppy said. I was shocked to see her brush away a tear. “There’s nothing wrong with you for being scared. I had issues trusting my alphas at first. The DA really messed us up.”

“You did?” I asked, sitting up to face Poppy. She had such a vibrant sex life and her relationship with her alphas seemed so fun and easy.

“Yeah. I freaked out anytime I was alone. I cried a lot. And they didn’t really know what to do, but they were there and kept trying. They earned my trust over time. Remember that I’ve been with them for almost three years now. We weren’t like this at the beginning.”

It hadn’t dawned on me that someone as confident and carefree as Poppy could have struggled, too. She scooted closer to me and ran her hand through my hair. I leaned into her, something I wouldn’t have been able to do a few months ago.

“Okay, so hypothetically, if I decided to have sex with him tonight, what would I do? I don’t want to mess it up,” I said, glancing at Westin and Clementine.

“You can’t mess up sex,” Westin said with a small smile. “As long as it feels good and you’re comfortable, it’s right.”

“But what if he doesn’t think I’m attractive?”

My friends snorted and rolled their eyes.

“I’m serious!”

“Josie, come on. They already know what you look like. And you’re fucking hot,” Poppy said with a confidence I didn’t have.

“I don’t know what to do to make it good for him,” I confessed.

“Alphas are so easy,” Poppy said with confidence. “Everything feels good to them.”

“But I’ve never even seen a… you know,” I said, gesturing at my crotch.

“Do you need me to draw you a diagram of a cock?” Poppy asked with a giggle.

“Ugh, no! I just don’t know what to do with it.”

Westin giggled. “Well, mainly put it inside you, right? But you can also give a blow job. They’re easy—you just grip the base with your hand and move it up and down for a bit. Keep gripping the base and put your mouth on the tip. Use your tongue a lot. And then put as much as you can in your mouth and suck. That’s pretty much all there is to it.”

Clementine nodded. “You can touch their balls, too. Some guys go crazy with that.”

“Am I supposed to, like… swallow it?” I asked, my voice getting high-pitched.

“That’s up to you. But you’ll probably want to. Alpha jizz tastes really good to omegas,” Poppy said, a dreamy look on her face.

The three of us stared at her before bursting into laughter.

“Fuck, I’m missing out being a beta,” Clementine said, tears streaming down her face. “I think it tastes so gross.”

“Maybe that’s an incentive for me to try alphas,” Westin said, her face pink. “Because beta males do not give me that dreamy expression.”

“I want to know about knotting,” Clementine said.

I whipped my head towards her with a squeal. “Wait, Clementine—have you and Dave done it?”

“Who’s Dave?” Poppy demanded.

Clementine cleared her throat. “Umm, just an alpha I know. And no. He said it’s too dangerous for us to be together. But I think he doesn’t want to be with me because he wants an omega.”

“Fuck that!” Poppy said. “You’re hot and amazing. Any alpha should crawl on his knees to be worthy of you.”

Clementine raised her eyebrows at me.

“Poppy has strong opinions,” I said with a smile. “But she’s right.”

“Of course I am. Okay, so obviously, knots are easier for omegas to take. We have an extra pleasure spot internally that the knot rubs against when it’s inflated and it feels amazing. It can still feel intense and overwhelming the first few times, but it shouldn’t hurt. I know betas that have been able to work up to take a knot. You just have to practice,” Poppy said.

“I get being scared, though,” Westin said, patting my hand. “I’ve never been with an alpha, so obviously, I’ve never experienced it. It kind of scares me, the idea of being stuck together.”

“That’s why it’s important to do it with someone you trust,” Poppy said. “But you don’t have to be knotted tonight if you’re not ready. You just have to communicate your needs.”

“I don’t like having to do that,” I whined. Poppy gave me a little shove.

I covered my face and groaned. “Why am I so nervous?”

“You just have to do it,” Poppy said. “Just get home and seduce him.”

“Seduce him?” I squealed, quickly covering my mouth at how loud I’d been. “I can’t seduce him,” I hissed.

“Just walk up to him, grab his cock through his pants, and say, ‘Daddy, I want your big, fat cock inside me,’” Poppy said, forming a pout with her lips and blinking her eyes.

“Oh my god, Poppy!” the three of us shrieked.

She fell over with a cackle. “Okay, that might be a little advanced. Why don’t you suggest giving each other massages? And then, if things feel right, you just build from there?”

I took a deep breath. Massages. Okay, that might be doable.

Before we could say anything else, the door opened and Luc walked in.

He looked at the four of us, sprawled out on the mats.

“Why did I think I could leave you to your own devices?” he muttered.

“I don’t know, Luc,” Poppy said. “But thank goodness we have a big, strong alpha here to direct us now.”

Luc rolled his eyes, but I swore I saw his lips twitch.

“Alright, let’s get going,” he said, voice firm.

Poppy pulled me up and gave me a hug. “I’ll text you tomorrow morning to see how it was,” she said with a wink.

“Hey, Clementine,” I said, keeping my voice low as we partnered off. “I was wondering if there’s been any word from the DC about my pack. I thought they’d be more, I don’t know, meddling? But they haven’t gotten in touch with us at all. Do you know what’s going on?”

Clementine brought her head close to mine, her voice low and conspiratorial. “Things aren’t going well for Glen Jacoby or Marshall Whiteburn,” she said in a hushed voice. “We thought they would be more interfering, too, especially with how angry your pack fathers were with your selection. But the Alliance has been doing a ton to dismantle the government, so I think that has them distracted. Typically, the DC does a home check before officially signing off on a pack. I’m guessing Amirah can swing it so I’m the one who does that check.”

“Oh my gosh, that would be perfect. And we could hang out at the house after,” I said, bouncing up and down with excitement at the idea of actually being able to have friends over.

“I’m so glad we’re friends,” she said softly.

“Me, too.”