Page 41 of Forbidden Taste
And then, Leo’s song floods the room, that low baritone angelic voice that adds to the beauty of this moment. Like a confession of love between the three of us, notes that need no words. I step closer, playing my heart out as they dance around me, nature seemingly caressing our every move until it becomes seamless, the three of us swaying as one.
My song comes to an end, Hawk grinning as he draws Leo into a soft kiss. “You’re right, Riley. His voice is heavenly.Perfect.”
“I think I’m falling for you,” Leo offers next. “For both of you. God, I think I might already be in love.” He throws an arm out for me to curl into, the three of us embracing each other. “I never thought there’d be someone by my side, loving me for me,” he continues. “Both of you have shown me an entirely different world—that there’s nothing wrong with me. That I might be different, but that doesn’t mean I deserve love any less.”
He kisses me next and I lose myself to their scents, their arms, their firm chests pressed against my shoulders. “I would’ve neverfound you if you didn’t step down my hallway, sweetie,” I whisper against his lips as I pull away.
“Strangely enough, I passed down Hawk’s first. Not that I knew what that scent was.”
We share a bit of laughter, Hawk’s phone dragging us out of the moment. He frowns as he digs into the pocket of his leggings, all of us confused when we see the name scrolling across his phone.
Rent-an-Alpha Center
“The fuck?” I glare at Hawk, demanding that he explain himself but the pure terror flooding his features tells me this was just one of many things that slipped past us. His face flushes as he hurriedly silences the call, looking up to us with an apology on his lips.
“Don’t worry. I’m telling her I’m out of the program. Fuck, I just forgot.” He shoves the phone back into his pocket. “There’s a whole process but I already told her the last time was it. Not sure why they’re calling.” The confusion trickling through the bond tells me that Leo isn’t as forgiving, Hawk still stumbling over his words. If Leo wasn’t on edge, I would be laughing. “Baby, I promise I’m not in the program anymore. I meant to cancel it weeks ago—it’s just been chaos and I’m glad I didn’t because it wouldn’t have been me showing up at your door. I’m done with it, I swear.” He reaches for Leo, waiting for our Zeta to give in.
For a moment, I think this might be our very first fight and then Leo breaks into this wide grin, dragging Hawk flush against his chest. “I demand cuddles.Lotsof them.”
Deciding to make Hawk’s life a little more difficult I chime in. “And those strawberry chocolates I like and some horrid, sappy TV show.” Hawk’s eyes widen a little but our Alpha said he was ready for two of us. “I demand to continue my Friday traditions, just with more cuddles and sweets.”
Leo readily agrees, Hawk letting out a soft laugh. “God, you guys are going to be the death of me and I’m going to love every minute of it.”
thirty
LEO
It’s here. The final performance. Saturday night in all its glory at the Karlen Center. I’ve only been here a handful of times, juniors and seniors the only ones slotted to play on stage depending on their final project. Even now, my path would never have me up on that stage, not that I mind. The spotlight isn’t really for me.
However, being here to support my men is everything and I’ll gladly weather the uncomfortable chairs and speeches that are too long and too boring to see Riley and Hawk perform. They mentioned that it was a joint production and I questioned how that was possible considering they never performed together.
They gave me an answer, something I didn’t really understand but that’s behind us. I haven’t seen either of them in twelve hours, both of them needing to practice and set up, my presence a true distraction at this point and with my project done, I decided to packup my room and say goodbye to the space I called home for nearly nine months.
Tomorrow, we’ll all file into Hawk’s apartment until we figure out what comes next but for now, that’s home.
I lean back in my chair, my gaze catching on the Haynes’ pack, a stark contrast to everyone else filing into the building. My fathers are on the larger side, my bulk a mirror image of my Omega father’s and the head Alpha even larger than him. My other two fathers are smaller but broad shouldered like I am. And then there’s Elias, my twin, my other half that I can barely ever get on the phone because he’s adventuring somewhere halfway across the country.
Our eyes meet, my green eyes a lighter shade of his, a grin spreading across his face as he wraps his arms around me. “Good to see you brother,” he rasps, his voice deeper than mine. I took all the soft looks in the split, Elias every bit the Alpha version that I didn’t get. “Still pretty as always, I see.”
I snort, shaking my head. “And you’re wearing… whatever the fuck you’re wearing. Why do you smell like an Alpha?” I got the apple pie scent but his fierce, stormy rain scent comes from our Beta father—our biological father. I sniff at him again, confused because it’s wholly Elias’ scent but not as sweet as it used to be.
His nose scrunches up and he shrugs. “Happened in the last year I guess. Why are we even talking about me? You smell confusing as fuck.” He wiggles his brows, pushing me into the aisle I came from. I’m not sure how to answer that, realizing that I should have called at least once in the past week to tell my parents—at the very least, my twin—what the fuck was going on with me.
Now, I get to suffer the embarrassment just before the performance, Elias slipping past me to sit on the other side as my fathers come toward me. My Omega father, Kieran, pulls me in first andI sag against him, drawing the warmth from his hug. It isn’t easy traveling home, only really visiting during school breaks and I realize just how much I cherish having them beside me. “Hey, son. You look good—really good. I was worried when you didn’t call home.” His hand lingers on my shoulder, squeezing softly as I then give hugs to my other three fathers.
I find my way back to my seat beside Elias, trying to find the right words. “A lot of things have changed and I didn’t really know what to say,” I push out, trying to gauge their reactions. My Alpha pack father, Isaias, laughs, his dark hair streaked with gray, reaching over to pat my thigh.
Elias cuts into the moment, although I’m not surprised. “We all know, brother. You forget that all your medical records show up in your chart—which our dads have access to. We also got the copay bill and they put my name on it.” Elias wraps an arm around my shoulder, his other hand roughly running through my hair. “You’re still my baby brother.”
“Keep telling yourself that, you’re the oldest but I’m getting my degree while you’re making fires in the woods.”
He chuckles, releasing me. I actually have no idea what he’s doing most of the time but he apparently went through a year or two of ranger school and takes people on adventures occasionally. Most of the other times he’s blogging his adventures, doing stunts that absolutely should not be done by anyone, let alone an Omega. I know for a fact he’s given all four of our fathers several heart attacks in the last year or two. Granted, no one online thinks he’s an Omega.
“Now, who’s yours? And don’t give me some bullshit.” Elias leans back in his chair, chewing on his bottom lip before he points to Riley sitting on the piano bench, his wide smile focused on Hawkstretching across the stage. “I’mma say that one. What? He’s pretty and because he’s looking at that Alpha, him too.”
“Yeah, both of them.”
“I knew it. We’re twins, remember? I know you like them soft.” He playfully jostles my shoulder, Kieran on the other side of me laughing as he drags my other father into a possessive kiss, the smallest of my fathers.
