Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 42

I slammed my laptop shut, frustration coursing through me. Why couldn’t I fix whatever was going on with my omega?

The energy had been subdued all day after Josie’s upsetting conversation with her mother and the cleaning. I scoffed. I couldn’t fucking believe our omega thought we wanted her to clean the house. Didn’t she know we weren’t like the alphas she grew up with?

She’d settled down after we all talked, but things were still off. She’d been too quiet, her smiles too forced.

I fucking hated it.

She’d gone upstairs to shower a few minutes ago, and I had to resist following her up like a stalker. Maybe giving her space right now was the wrong thing to do. My alpha agreed.

I stomped into the kitchen, where Theo was bent over a book.

“What’re you doing?” I asked.

He jumped, quickly shutting the book.

I raised my brows and he huffed, showing me the cover: When Your Loved One is Traumatized.

“Catchy,” I said.

Ben pulled a chocolate cake from the fridge to frost and joined us at the island.

“Anything helpful in there?” he asked, leaning over Theo’s shoulder to flip through the book. I felt the weight of his helplessness through the bond. We all hated seeing Josie so dejected.

“Looks like you’ve already read it,” I said to Theo, noting how worn it was.

“I got it years ago,” he mumbled. “When we left North Woods.”

His words hung in the air, and it took me a moment to realize he must have gotten the book for me back in the day. My throat tightened and I pulled him in for a quick hug.

“The three of us have seen some shit,” I said, clearing my throat.

“No kidding,” Ben said, putting his arm around me. “And I think Josie might have us all beat.”

Theo lifted his head from the book. “I feel like she’s hiding the worst of it from us because she thinks we’ll think less of her.” He looked lost in thought for a moment before adding, “We have to figure out how to get her away from her family for good.”

Theo’s analytic mind shifted from one problem to the next, focusing on strategy and logic in a way I couldn’t when it came to our mate. All I knew was that my Josie was hurting, and I felt lost.

My mind went again to the files Ben and I found last night. Something about it tickled at the edges of my memory, but I couldn’t quite figure out what.

“So,” Ben said, interrupting my thoughts, “what does the book say?”

“A lot of it is about being patient and knowing healing takes time,” Theo said with a frown.

“Nope. Don’t like that,” Ben muttered as he fought the chocolate icing, frustration lacing his tone.

“I just want her to be happy,” I said, pulling my hair up in a bun. Josie seemed to like running her hands through it, and I secretly hoped she would pull it back down again.

“Is there any other advice—oh, shit,” Ben said. “Did you see this about the senator?” He held out his phone.

Theo and I shook our heads.

“It just came through from Charlie.”

Charlie was a hacker Ben worked with through the Alliance.

“Apparently, a senator accused Jericho of stealing his omega in a late-night legislative session.”

“What?” I asked, my chest tightening.

“Why isn’t this on the news?” Theo asked, now flipping through his phone.

“I’m sure Jericho made plenty of threats to cover it up,” I growled.

“What about Jericho?” a sweet voice asked from the doorway.

We whirled to face Josie, whose hair was still damp from the shower.

I held out my arms and was relieved when she came to me, but I hated how stiffly she held herself.

“Jericho?” she prompted.

For a moment, none of us said anything. I hated that she’d overheard. I didn’t want to add to her stress or burden.

Ben hesitated. “A video clip just came through from Charlie. She hacked the system and pulled it before it was permanently wiped.”

My jaw clenched as frustration flared within me. I threw Ben a dirty look I knew he didn’t deserve, but I didn’t want Josie to watch something that would upset her. Ben’s jaw clenched, and he averted his eyes.

“You don’t have to watch it,” I said, caressing Josie’s face and wishing I could shield her from everything bad.

“I want to,” she responded quietly.

Ben turned his phone around and pressed play on the video. For the first few minutes, it seemed like regular footage of the senate floor until one of the senators stood up. The video was a wide shot of the senate, but the agony on his face was still clear.

“I know you have her, you sick son of a bitch. Give her back to me!” the alpha shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Jericho, whose face didn’t betray any emotion. “You took her from us, my omega. Where is she?”

Josie trembled in my arms, blinking quickly to stop her tears. I held her tight to my side.

Something caught Jericho’s eye outside the frame, and he snapped his fingers. Immediately, a swarm of guards descended on the alpha and carried him away. Jericho turned back to the assembly and calmly read the next agenda item as if nothing had happened.

Josie pulled away from me, and I fought every instinct screaming to pull her back in, press her close to me and offer whatever comfort I could.

“You think he did it?” she whispered, not making eye contact.

“Possibly,” Theo said, trailing his hand down her arm.

Josie’s jaw was set, and she gave a little nod.

“I think I’ll go to bed,” she said.

“Okay,” I said, holding out my hand to her to go upstairs.

“Alone,” she said so softly I almost didn’t catch it.

Fuck. That was like a dagger to the heart.

Was she upset with me? About the news with Jericho? Or something else? I couldn’t fucking fix it, and that made me livid.

Theo cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows at me.

Yeah, yeah, time and patience.

“Let me walk you up at least,” I said, cupping Josie under the chin.

She said goodnight to the other two and walked ahead of me up the stairs. We paused at her door, the energy awkward between us.

“If you change your mind or need anything, come and get me. No matter what time it is. Understand, baby girl?”

“I will,” she said.

I pulled her in for a tight hug, trying to send all my love and warmth into it.

“I’m respecting your space for tonight because you’ve dealt with a lot today. But soon, you won’t be able to hide from me.”

She shivered and put her arms around me. For a second, I thought she might ask me to stay. But then she slipped away with a quiet goodnight.

Leaving me alone in the hallway.