Forbidden by Liliana Carlisle

CHAPTER 13

JAKOB

I pushed her too hard.

I knew she had a secret, and that was her real reason for pushing me away.

But she wasn’t ready to admit it, especially not with me.

I catch her before she sinks to the ground, guilt seizing in my chest.

She gasps, her voice a startled choke, and the sound pierces my heart.

“Amelia?” I whisper, cradling her head in my lap.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

She whimpers, and the sound makes my Alpha howl.

“Sweetheart, listen,” I whisper. “Please. Please talk to me.”

I pushed her too hard, and I’m a bastard because of it.

Her nails grip my forearms as she struggles to speak. “I’ll be okay,” she grits out through clenched teeth. “This has happened before.”

I hold her while it passes.

It can’t have lasted more than a minute, but it feels like an eternity.

When her shaking stops, she collapses in my lap, her eyes shining up into mine. Gold flecks dance around them, and once again I’m entranced by her beauty.

“This is what happens, Jakob,” she admits quietly. “I…I’m sick.”

I stroke her hair as we sit on the floor. “Now you know,” she murmurs, ashamed.

“Tell me more,” I press, determined to keep her speaking.

I could listen to the sound of her voice for the rest of my fucking life.

She closes her eyes and sighs, resigned. “Ever since I was a Beta,” she admits. “They don’t know what’s wrong with me. One day it’s a headache, the next, it’s a fainting spell.”

She turns her head, facing away from me, and I pull her up and into my arms. I bury my face in her hair, inhaling her subtle scent, intoxicated.

“I don’t want your pity,” she finally mumbles.

“And I won’t give you any,” I say quickly. “Anything else you want, but not that. Ever. I swear to you.”

I’ve seen the looks on my brother’s faces as they realize that I probably don’t have an Omega match. That I’m destined to be alone.

I wouldn’t wish pity on anyone.

Pulling her closer, my chest rumbles, an involuntary purr reverberating through me. She burrows closer into my hold, sighing contentedly.

Alphas don’t purr for Betas.

But it’s the second time in less than an hour I’ve produced the sound, specifically for her.

“At the bar…the first time…” she trails off, and my mind goes back to that night.

Her gasps of pleasure.

The taste of her skin.

“Yes?” I rumble.

“Around you, I felt…better. Healthier than I have in a long, long time.” Her eyes meet mine as she shifts in my arms, and her mouth parts slightly.

She’s in a daze, as much as I am.

And in this moment, I know I’m fucked.

Nothing will take me from her.

Nothing.

I haven’t been inside her, haven’t claimed her, but I already know that she is mine.

Mine to take, mine to fuck, mine to breed.

She’s not an Omega, but I couldn’t care less.

She must see it in my eyes, because she starts to protest, attempting to climb off me. “Jakob…” she starts, her eyes wide with uncertainty.

“Don’t be afraid, Princess,” I rumble, my lips inches from hers.

I kiss her again, and this time it’s perfect.