Page 13 of Forbidden Taste
I shrug, forcing nonchalance even as my stomach twists. “They already do. Both Leo and I are high points of conversation.” It’s true—whispers follow me like shadows, the golden Omega who has too much money, and now Leo, the Omega who’s as big as an Alpha. I can feel the gossip brewing, the judgment waiting to pounce the moment everyone finds us together. “Oh, and I’m not declining the opportunity because of Leo. I just don’t want to. They gave me a choice. I don’t want to do it.”
Had they asked me last year, I might have pounced on it. I was reckless and stupid and I wanted to be the Omega that everyone truly thought I was. For brief moments, I thought I was in love with Benjamin. That version of me disappeared when this school year started and has all but died the moment I found Leo.
“Mr. Hart, I don’t think you understand,” she says, stepping closer. “An Omega pairing isn’t just taboo—it’s unheard of. There are occasional packs that bring in another Omega after being together, but two Omegas without an Alpha? Have you thought about the logistics of that. It’s not going to work. Chasing your desires is only going to ruin your future.”
I knew this conversation was coming—knew it from the moment Leo kissed me, from the second his knot locked us together. It’s only a matter of time before it reaches my parents, before they hear the whispers. I sigh, running a hand through my curls, my shoulders slumping. “I get that you’re trying to make me the best I can be. But no one ever stops to remember that I’m just me. That I want to have fun, enjoy my college years. I don’t want to get married for money or status. Benjamin thinks all of this is just going to be automatically his, but it’s still my say in the end.”
I grab my bag, slinging it over my shoulder, the weight of it grounding me. “For your information,” I add, turning toward the door, “Leo isn’t a distraction. He’s the reason I finished that piece today.” I don’t wait for her reaction as I slip into the hall, already fumbling for my phone.
I barely finish texting ‘meet me outside, need you’ when I delete it. Leo isn’t ready for that side of me. He will be. And god, I want to be that needy Omega. I want to lean into all my instincts and provide and nurture Leo. I have so many fantasies I want to play out but the thing I want most is to be able to run straight into his arms and bury myself in his warmth all over again.
But that will have to wait because I don’t want to scare him off. Everything else I think of, though, turns out to be just as sappy and needy.
I already miss you.
Yeah no, definitely not that.
I can’t wait until…
I cringe before I even finish that one and stuff my phone into my pocket, keeping my head down as I walk. I’m not ready for two strong arms wrapping around me and pulling me into a hard chest,a sudden burst of apple pie surrounding me. “Were you waiting for me?” I mumble into Leo’s chest.
“Needed to make sure you came out of there in one piece. It didn’t feel right.”
I snuggle in a little closer. If I didn’t think we were mates before, I definitely do now. Maybe evenfatedmates but I’m not bringing that up anytime soon.
eleven
RILEY
I’ve been dodging Benjamin’s calls all day, the buzz of my phone a constant irritation I silence without a second thought. After checking in with Leoagain, I tucked myself into the corner of the cafeteria, my back pressed against the wall, eyes peeled for the owner of that familiar citrus stench. Benjamin’s angry enough to start something in public, to drag me out of here with his Alpha posturing, but he hasn’t shown up. It’s a surprise, a small mercy I don’t trust, and I sip the strange artisanal passion fruit juice from the front, the bitter taste doing little to calm the jitter in my chest.
The cafeteria is busy as it always is but there seems to be more eyes on me than usual, so much so that I’m starting to feelveryuncomfortable. Snickers ripple through the air, fingers pointing my way, and I shift at my table, my hoodie suddenly too warm.
Then Mila slips into the seat across from me, her dark hair spilling over her shoulders as she frantically pats the table in frontof me. “Hey, Riley,” she whispers, leaning forward. She’s an Omega that lives across the hall from me, a sort of acquaintance over the years. “Please tell me you’ve heard what’s going on.”
I blink, my glass pausing halfway to my lips. “What?”
She sighs and pulls out her phone. “I really wish you’d at least read the school boards more,” she mutters, scrolling a few times before turning the screen toward me.
Breaking News
It’s one of those posts that people use to spill messy campus gossip. It’s usually dumb stuff—hookups, fights, drunken stunts—but then I see the comments flooding in.
Who’s Riley dating?
Saw that big Omega leaving his practice room—sketchy as hell.
My stomach twists, but it gets worse. The words turn venomous, accusing Leo of forcing himself on me, calling him a disgrace to Omegas, demanding he be kicked out. My scent sours as my heart drops into my stomach, all the happiness from today fading away to nothing.
“Have you seen Leo?”
Mila shakes her head, her expression softening with worry. “We’re not in the same classes,” she says, “and I don’t think anyone’s seen him really since he left your practice room.”
Where are you? Are you okay?
None of those thinking dots appear and no reply lights up the screen. I call him next, the line ringing once, twice, then straightto voicemail. His deep, shy voice fills my ear—“Uh, it’s Leo, leave a message”—and I hang up, confused. For some reason, my mind leaps to the worst—Leo hurt, Leo hiding, Leo broken by these vicious lies—panic clawing at me.
“I have to go,” I say, shoving my chair back with a screech that draws more eyes. Mila opens her mouth, maybe to stop me, but I’m already moving, my bag slung over my shoulder as I take off across campus.
