Forbidden: Part One – Chapter 60

I flipped through my recipe list while waiting for Josie to get out of the bath. She kept weaving the idea of me opening up my own bakery into conversation, and now I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Her confidence in my abilities bolstered my own, and I felt genuine excitement about the future for the first time in years. I knew I should catch up on my programming work, but more and more, it felt like drudgery.

Suddenly, a jolt of anxiety and anger rang through the bond so strongly I almost doubled over. I took off towards Theo’s office. Cam came up the stairs from the gym just as I was rounding the corner, eyes wide as he scanned the hallway for threats. We shook our heads, unsure of what was going on, as we barreled our way into the office.

Theo looked up from his chair as we barged in, his face drawn. Cam closed the door behind us.

“What’s going on?” he barked. “Where’s Josie?”

“Upstairs in the bath,” I responded.

Theo ran his hand through his hair. “That was Amirah on the phone.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“Remember Glen’s press conference that we caught on TV the other night?” he continued.

“How could we forget,” Cam muttered.

“Yeah, well, he was talking about this new Designation Center department called the Center for Pack Cohesion. Basically, they’re going to be interfering with packs even more than before.”

“They can’t take Josie away from us,” I blurted out.

“Course they’re fucking not,” Cam said, his eyes flashing with anger. “What does this mean for us?”

“It means we have to go into the DC tomorrow and do an in-person interview,” Theo said with a grimace.

“Why can’t Clementine come here for the interview like we originally planned?” I asked, my heart racing.

“It’s not procedure anymore,” Theo spit out. “Amirah didn’t know what the interview would involve but said we need to practice our answers and make sure we say we’re doing everything by their instructions. After the interview, they should approve us as a pack, and we’ll be done with them.”

“Are they going to split us up for the interview?” I asked. My chest felt tight like I could barely get air. Cam reached over and clasped my shoulder, the heavy weight of his hand grounding me.

“No, the protocol is for us to be kept together,” Theo said. He took a deep breath before sitting up straighter in his chair. “We need to stay calm when we tell Josie the news to reassure her that nothing bad will happen tomorrow.”

“Nothing bad will happen,” Cam snarled. “We’ll protect her.”

“Of course,” Theo responded. “But that place holds bad memories for her.”

“So, we just pretend we’re fine with this?” I asked, a sick feeling growing in my stomach. The thought of returning to the DC made me anxious enough with their constant surveillance. I couldn’t imagine how hard it would be for our mate.

“We don’t have to act happy about it,” Theo said with a frown. “But we can’t fall apart.”

Cam grunted. “I agree. We have to be steady for her.”

I looked between them. “I guess so.” I wasn’t sure we would be able to hide our emotions from Josie, anyway. I felt like she understood me better than I did myself.

“Why are they doing this now?” Cam asked, sitting down heavily in the seat across from Theo.

Theo tapped his pen on his desk and looked out the window. “Everything is falling apart for the Designation Government. Protests are increasing and the Alliance is making significant progress against them. They’ve created this new Pack Cohesion program to regain control.”

His voice was calm, almost clinical, but I could feel his riot of emotions under the bond. I shifted my weight, frustrated. It felt like we were back in our teenage years when the two of them thought I couldn’t handle their honest thoughts and feelings.

“I think Glen’s taking out his fucking anger on Josie,” Cam said. “He obviously has it out for her.”

Memories of Josie’s nightmare haunted me. I would be in the middle of doing something and remember a new detail and have to find her and hug her close. I didn’t know how to deal with the fear of being unable to protect her.

“I don’t understand how all these legislators still support Glen,” I said.

“He must have something on them,” Theo responded. “At least that’s what Amirah believes, and I agree. Some of those alphas are good guys, or at least I thought they were. And now they’re all in bed with Glen.”

“Fuck, I don’t want to tell her about tomorrow,” Cam groaned, gripping the chair’s armrest. “She’s been so happy.”

“We’ll tell her as soon as she comes downstairs, yeah?” Theo said.

“Let me shower real quick,” Cam said, standing up with a stretch.

“Wait,” I blurted out. “Wouldn’t it… I don’t know. Wouldn’t it be safer for us to leave the province?”

Cam’s jaw clenched and he ran his hand through his hair. “Not sure we could get out, even if we tried.”

Theo tapped his pen more quickly on the desk, the tension in his body telling me he’d already thought about this.

“They’ve increased the number of guards at the border. They obviously won’t approve a visa for Josie to leave, and I don’t think there’s a safe way to smuggle her out,” he said.

Tension hung in the air.

“Well… then wouldn’t it be better if we bonded her before tomorrow? That way, they can’t take her away from us.” The moment the words were out, they felt wrong. I was anxious to be forever tied to my girl, but I didn’t want to bond out of fear.

“We can’t pressure her,” Cam said. “Bonding should be special.”

“I agree,” Theo said. “We shouldn’t rush it just because of the DC. I can’t imagine them actually trying to separate us. Alphas would revolt against them if they started taking omegas away from their packs.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Sorry,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck.

“It’s going to happen, just at the right time,” Cam said confidently, grasping my shoulder before heading out of the room.

I kept stealing glances at Josie. She was curled up in the corner of the sectional under a heavy blanket, even though it was an unseasonably warm day outside. She had accepted the news of the DC interview calmly… too calmly. She seemed almost resigned when Theo told her, as if she expected something like this to happen. Anxiety clawed at my insides, and I wanted to scream in frustration. But instead, I sat quietly, following Theo and Cam’s lead. They were both laser-focused on prepping for the interview and didn’t seem to notice our mate’s silent, vacant gaze.

Theo had decided we all needed to review the DC’s omega manual. He’d made copies for all of us and occasionally read passages out loud as if he were leading a college study group. Josie hadn’t touched her copy. It sat on the side table next to her as she stared out the window.

“We’re not supposed to let you have any nesting materials outside your heat? What the fuck,” Theo muttered. He read from the manual, “Omegas frequently test their alphas. It is their nature to be manipulative and try to gain control of the pack. Therefore, it is essential to utilize punishments to keep the omega on track. Examples of punishments include sleeping apart from the pack, sleeping on the floor, removal of all blankets and pillows, removal of physical touch and affection, and corporal punishment. These punishments should persist as long as necessary for the omega to learn her lesson and earn back the privileges.”

Theo put down the manual, his eyes wide.

“Fucking barbaric,” Cam growled. It was a testament to how worried he was about the interview that he wasn’t engaging in his favorite pastime—staring at Josie. Instead, he thumbed through the manual, a scowl on his face.

I couldn’t stand any distance between Josie and me any longer, so I moved from my chair to the spot next to her, our bodies pressed together. The blanket shifted and I realized her skin was cold and small trembles racked her body.

“Josie?” She didn’t turn to acknowledge me. “Precious, can you hear me?” I gently shook her arm, causing her to jolt out of her haze and turn towards me.

“Sorry, did you say something?” she asked softly. Even though she was looking at me, her eyes had a glazed quality that made me feel like she wasn’t really seeing me.

“Where’d you go, beautiful? You were lost in thought there,” I said, trying to keep my voice low and soothing.

She shrugged, but her lower lip trembled ever so slightly.

Cam and Theo finally noticed what was happening, their heads snapping up.

“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?” Cam asked. “You don’t have to worry about tomorrow. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

Josie stiffened next to me. “You’re probably right,” she said. “I just… I already know this stuff. I might go upstairs to rest for a bit.”

Theo looked unsure. “Did I upset you by reading it out loud? I’m sorry, love. I shouldn’t have done that.”

Josie just shrugged again. “It’s fine. It’s nothing I haven’t lived.” She stood up, keeping the blanket wrapped around her like a protective cape. “I’m just going to lie down.”

I desperately wanted to follow her as she disappeared up the stairs, but first, I needed to talk to my brothers. I turned towards them, a spark of anger moving through me. “Your decision to be all stoic about this is making it so she can’t show her feelings,” I hissed.

“You want us to be all dramatic and fall apart? How is that going to help her?” Theo bit out.

“I want you to act like a fucking human being,” I snarled.

“I’m trying to hold this all together and get us ready for tomorrow because, if you hadn’t noticed, Ben, a lot is riding on us doing well in this interview,” Theo said. We were both standing now, glaring at each other.

“If you haven’t noticed, Theo, Josie needs us right now,” I sniped back, hands clenched. Part of me knew it wasn’t really Theo I was angry at. He was doing what he always did—leading us through any challenge—but I couldn’t stop the avalanche of my emotions.

Cam stepped in between us. “We’re all on the same side here,” he growled. “Let’s just fucking calm down.”

I huffed. “Yeah, I’ll just do that. Our pack is being threatened, but I’ll just keep calm.”

“Ben,” Cam said, frowning, his brows furrowing with concern.

I looked away. I never rocked the boat and couldn’t remember ever being this angry with my brothers. I forced myself to take a deep breath.

“I’m going to go check on her,” I said, leaving the room before they could respond.

I walked into Josie’s bedroom without knocking, my body trembling with anger. The moment I saw her, my rage melted away. She was sitting on the side of the bed, staring at the wall. Seeing her like that made me want to cry.

“What do you need, precious?” I murmured, sitting down next to her.

She didn’t move, didn’t say anything. I wondered if she needed me to back off or to take control like I had during her heat. The idea of leaving her alone like this was unthinkable, so instead, I went to her dresser and got out a pair of sweatpants and one of my sweatshirts she had pilfered. I moved back towards her carefully.

“I’m going to get you changed, precious, so we can lie down and be more comfortable.”

She kept staring at the wall, but at least this time, she gave me the tiniest nod of acknowledgment. I quickly changed her clothes and tugged her onto the bed so she was curled up against my side.

“We’ll all be together tomorrow,” I murmured, holding her tightly. “We won’t leave. We’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

Her breath hitched and tears streamed down her face.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

“Me too, precious. But you’re not going in there alone this time.”

She entwined her legs with mine and we held each other close, as if by clinging to each other, we could prevent anything bad from touching us.

The door clicked and Cam and Theo walked in, both looking anxious and uncertain.

“I’m sorry,” Theo said, sitting down on the edge of the bed, running his hand down Josie’s hair as he met my gaze. “To both of you. I panicked and went straight into solution mode. I don’t know how to deal with this.”

“I’m sorry, too,” I said.

“It’s okay,” Josie said, reaching out to hold Theo’s hand.

“What do you need, baby girl?” Cam asked, brushing the hair out of Josie’s face.

“Will you lie down with us?” she asked hesitantly. “Unless there’s other stuff you need to do,” she added quickly.

“Nothing I would rather do than be here,” Theo said. They lay down on either side of us, wrapping us in their embrace.