Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 35

I gazed into Josie’s beautiful green eyes, capturing her hands with both of mine. I needed her warmth to ground me. My heart pounded at the thought of any alpha using his bark on her, but I had promised to listen. Fuck. Now I realized how excited she had been when she got into the car after class, her scent bright and happy without a hint of stress. I had jumped to conclusions without paying attention, but I vowed to pay attention now.

“Luc asked us if we wanted to practice resisting an alpha bark. Because no matter how good we get at self-defense, we’re always going to be vulnerable—an alpha could bark at us and that would be it. Even once I’m bonded, another alpha’s bark will still influence me. But Luc said if we practiced, we could get better at resisting. We wanted to practice. He didn’t force us or anything. And by the end of class, I got pretty good at it.”

Once I’m bonded. Once I’m bonded. Once I’m bonded.

Her words ran around my head in a giddy spiral until everything else faded away. My grip on her hands tightened, and I had to fight to keep myself from getting out of the car and running victory laps. Josie had been so skittish around us just days ago, and now she was talking about bonding. My alpha roared with excitement. I wanted to text the guys and tell them.

“Theo?” Josie’s sweet voice jolted me back to reality.

I breathed through my whirlwind of emotion, sobered by the reminder that she was vulnerable anytime she was around alphas. I also noticed the pride seeping into her voice when she shared she had gotten good at resisting. It was so rare for her to say anything positive about herself.

“Of course, you were good at it. You’re fucking amazing,” I said, a hint of a growl in my voice.

Josie preened at my praise, seeming to glow as her incredible, sweet scent grew thicker around us.

“How did he have you practice? He better not have crossed any lines. Did you feel safe?” I asked rapid-fire.

Josie giggled and it was like the brightest sunshine.

“He had us stand across the room from him, and one by one, he barked at us to cross the room. We had to try to stay where we were. It was totally safe. Poppy and Westin did it, too. Clementine was there, but she just cheered us on since she’s not susceptible to barks. By the end of class, I only took a few steps towards Luc before stopping myself.”

I took in what she was saying, grimacing at how much I had overreacted. None of us fully trusted another alpha around her, but I had to admit that what Luc had done was smart, and he’d helped Josie feel more confident.

“That’s so good, angel,” I said, smiling as I saw her squirm happily at my praise. I hated that praise had such an impact on my girl because she’d received so little in her life, but I loved that I could make her feel good about herself. “It’s not a bad idea to practice, but you should never be in a position where you have to resist a bark. There are laws against alphas using it.”

Josie’s face fell and she turned towards the window, biting her lip as she took in the view of the city. I gently tugged her lip away, soothing it with my thumb. Her scent had turned to sharp, burnt sugar.

“Has someone used their bark on you?” I asked, my anger rising. I resisted gripping her chin to force her to look at me.

“Yeah,” she said softly, glancing at me quickly to gauge my reaction. Suddenly, I had to have my arms around her. I couldn’t handle the car console separating us.

“Wait there,” I said before getting out of the car. I got a blanket from the back—the only thing in there, despite what I had told Josie earlier—before opening the passenger door.

“Where are we going?” she asked, lips parting as she looked up at me.

“On top of the car,” I said as I pulled her out of her seat.

“On top of the car?” she repeated skeptically, looking up at the tall, flat top of my Range Rover.

Before she could say anything, I grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her up. She squeaked out the cutest gasp as she reached out her arms to pull herself up. My hands lingered on her ass as I gave her the final boost she needed to settle herself on the car before swinging myself up next to her.

“Ugh, no fair how sexy you just looked doing that,” she said with a disgruntled expression. I laughed and laid the blanket out before sitting on it, pulling her in between my legs with her back resting firmly against my chest. She leaned her head back, turning to look at me.

“Why are we on top of the car, Theo?”

“Because I couldn’t wait one more minute to have you in my arms.”

“Oh,” she said with a smile, and she snuggled closer. The movement rubbed her ass against my cock, which hardened immediately.

“Oops,” she said, a sly smile crossing her face.

“You’re much naughtier than you put on, my love,” I whispered into her ear before tugging her earlobe gently with my teeth. She shivered in pleasure.

“Now, I want to hear about who used their bark on you,” I said, keeping my voice calm. Josie’s sweet scent was still burnt vanilla, and I hated how anxious she was. I kept one arm banded around her and moved my other hand to rest gently on her throat, tipping her face towards mine. “I’ve got you, love. You’re safe.”

“I know,” she whispered. “Will you… I mean, would you mind…”

“What, angel?”

“Could you purr for me?” The request came in the softest whisper, so quiet I barely caught it.

Warmth flooded through my body at her request. An alpha purr was usually only reserved for a bond mate. It was intimate and had an immediate relaxing effect on an omega. I had wanted to purr for her so many times but had held back, so I didn’t make her uncomfortable with the implication.

“You don’t have to,” Josie said quickly, sitting up as if to pull away from me.

“There’s nothing I would love more,” I responded.

Before she could panic at having asked for something, a rolling vibration started in my chest as I purred for my omega, my love, my everything, for the first time. She relaxed against me, her muscles going soft and her scent returning to its earlier sweetness. I rubbed my face against her neck, breathing her in and scent-marking her.

“Thank you,” she murmured, trailing her fingers down my arms. Then she took a deep breath. “In my community, any alpha can use their bark against an omega as long as it’s justified. Of course, the alpha dictates when the bark is justified. Growing up, it was mainly my pack fathers who used it against me. They would forbid me from talking or force me to stay in my room all day when they grew tired of me.”

Her voice hitched and she paused, taking another breath to steel herself. I forced myself to tamp down the rage rushing through me, focusing instead on soothing the deep crescent marks in her palms from her fingernails. I kissed her palms, wishing I could erase all her pain.

“The law says that fathers and bonded alphas can use their bark on their omega, but it also says that certain officials can as well. The alphas at the DA are allowed to use their bark on omegas, and they did it all the time. They forced us to follow their rules and to submit to medical exams. Some alphas did it just because they enjoyed feeling in control. Sometimes I would try to fight it, but when I did, I would get punished more. So I didn’t fight it. I just did whatever they said.”

Tears fell down her face and I intensified my purr.

“Those fuckers,” I growled. “They shouldn’t be allowed to get away with that. That never should have happened to you. And none of it was your fault. Of course, you didn’t resist. You didn’t have a choice.” My voice grew louder and I was worried it would stress her more. She surprised me by relaxing against me, her tears slowing.

“No, it shouldn’t have happened,” she said quietly.

Her hand squeezed the spot on her arm where her scar was. I felt like there was more she wasn’t saying, and I almost asked her about it when she turned in my arms to face me.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

“What are you thanking me for, beautiful?” I brushed her hair out of her face like she had done for me earlier in the car. That simple gesture had almost killed me.

“Thank you for being angry for me.”

I didn’t know what to say, my fury and sadness mixing with the tenderness of my love for her. I put my hands on her waist and maneuvered her so she faced me fully, her legs straddling my waist.

“Once we moved to North Woods,” I said, pulling her in so her face was tucked into my neck, “my pack fathers started using their bark on my mother and sisters. They pressured me to do the same. At first, I refused. I didn’t want to be that kind of alpha. We had lived in a progressive community in London, and I had never seen an alpha abuse his bark as they did in North Woods. But they started beating me if I refused, telling me I needed to ‘alpha up’ and be tough. I did it to avoid being punished, but I should have resisted. I can’t believe I did that to other omegas,” I confessed, a tear escaping down my cheek.

I was so ashamed of what I had done, the way I had forced omegas to do my bidding. I didn’t deserve this perfect omega in my arms. I felt a slight vibration coming from Josie’s chest. I stilled as it grew stronger. It was the sweetest, cutest fucking purr I had ever heard. She was purring for me. My mate was purring for me.

I don’t know how long we held each other, but when Josie’s purr petered out, she rubbed her face against my neck and then sat up, her green eyes meeting mine. She brushed my tears away.

“It wasn’t your fault, Theo.”

I released the breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding as the weight of the guilt I’d held onto for years eased. I could see the sincerity in her eyes, feel her warmth against my skin. She wasn’t running, wasn’t condemning me.

I pulled her in for a kiss, not knowing what else to do with the deep well of emotion I felt for her. Our kisses grew more heated. Josie rocked against me, my cock growing hard again as we built friction between us.

I broke our kiss, my lips quirking at Josie’s disgruntled growl. A thrill of fear went through me at the thought of speaking the words burning on my lips, but then Josie caressed my face with tenderness, giving me the courage to speak.

“I love you, angel,” I said, tightening my arms around her as if I could keep her from running away. I wanted to make love to her, bond her, make her mine forever.

Josie’s face broke into the most stunning smile I had ever seen. Her cheeks flushed and her lips parted in surprise. Her beauty was breathtaking.

“I love you, too,” she said, joy radiating from her.

A rush of relief and giddy happiness washed through me. We stayed on top of the car, exchanging drugging kisses, her sexy body rocking against mine until she shivered.

“Let’s get you home,” I said, pressing one last kiss to her forehead before helping her down.