Page 13 of Forbidden Taste (An Omega’s Preference #3)

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 Leo again , 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 feel very uncomfortable. 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 front of 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 straight to 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.

I sprint down the architecture wing, my breath coming in sharp, panicked bursts. I don’t know where his dorm is but the best bet would be checking if he was in class, right? I round a corner, nearly crashing into a lanky Beta who stumbles back, his hazel eyes narrowing as he steadies himself.

“You really fucked him over, didn’t you?” he teases, a hard edge to his voice. “Ah, yes, I’m Eugene. Good friend of the guy you’ve got everyone shitting on.”

“What are you talking about?” I snap, my hands clenching at my sides, my scent spiking with anxiety. “Do you know where Leo is? Is he okay?” My voice cracks, desperate, and I step closer, searching his face for anything—any hint of where my mate might be.

Eugene crosses his arms, his posture stiff. “Why do you even care?” he shoots back, his tone laced with skepticism. “A little tryst for you will get swept under the rug. For him, it could cost him his career. Did you see the shit they’re saying about him?”

“That’s not what I wanted. Just… where is he?”

He scoffs, shaking his head. “If you’re smart, you’ll step back. You’ll deal with this mess you made and then walk the other way.”

I bristle, a growl rumbling low in my throat.

“And if you’re smart,” I counter, my tone sharper than it should be when talking to a Beta, “you’ll know I don’t make dumb decisions.

I didn’t walk into this without knowing I’d stick by Leo—regardless.

He’s my mate and I’m not going to let him suffer alone. Where is he?”

Eugene blinks, his brows shooting up. “Wait, you mated another Omega? Bullshit. The golden Omega of the school mated the giant?” His voice drips with disbelief, and I hate the way he says “the giant” like Leo’s some freak show instead of the angel I know he is.

“I wish you wouldn’t call him that. He’s an angel. If you’re not going to help me, I’ll find him myself.” I turn on my heel, my bag bouncing against my hip as I stalk off, leaving Eugene standing there with his mouth half-open.

I hate that he seems like a friend to Leo but doesn’t care—not really, not enough to see past the rumors and the labels.

A growl of frustration tears from my throat as I head toward the junior dorms, my fingers fumbling for my phone again.

I dial Leo’s number, my heart sinking as it rings once, twice, then cuts to voicemail.

“Fuck, sweetie, where are you?” I mutter, my voice breaking as I weave through the courtyard.

Something shifts, a sharp pain in my chest and then an invisible tug like a thread leading me to what my heart wants.

I follow it, frantic, head whipping from side to side before I stop just inches from the small circle of nature inches from my apartment building at the edge of the campus.

I’ve spent hours out here with a book or humming a melody as I try to imagine the notes, but now it feels different.

My eyes scan the shadows, and then I see him—Leo, sitting beneath one of the willows, his massive frame hunched, his knees drawn up.

He’s staring out into the distance, his scent all wrong, twisted with confusion.

I rush forward, my heart pounding as I close the distance between me and Leo but I stop short, inches from him, my breath hitching as uncertainty crashes over me. I need to be held, to feel his arms around me, to hear him say everything’s okay—but I don’t know what he needs.

Tears glisten on his cheeks, his sea-green eyes raw and red-rimmed, and I ache to fix it, to take away the hurt etched into his freckled face.

Then he moves, opening his arms, and it’s all the invitation I need.

I curl into him, my body fitting against his massive frame like it was made to, and let out a heavy sigh, the tension bleeding from my shoulders.

“I had no idea what they were saying,” I murmur, my voice muffled against his chest, “or that it would be this bad. I don’t want you to hurt, Leo, and when I couldn’t find you… ”

He presses a soft kiss to the top of my head, his lips warm against my curls, and holds me tighter, his arms a solid cage around me. “I didn’t know where to go,” he says, his voice low, rough with emotion. “There’s always been stares, but I’ve never really heard it to my face.”

I pull back just enough to look up at him, my hands resting on his chest. “Why didn’t you go back to your nest?” I ask softly, searching his face for answers.

He’s quiet for a moment, his gaze dropping to the grass between us.

“I’ve never built one,” he admits, his tone flat, like he’s trying to shrug it off.

“We’re all late bloomers in my family, a bit, I guess.

Never been something I wanted to do. A friend told me that my nest isn’t really pillows, but the things I hold close.

” He shrugs again, a small, dismissive motion, but I see the flicker of pain in his eyes—the way it cuts him that he doesn’t fit the mold, that Omega biology bends and twists in him differently.

“I get it,” I say, but he cuts me off, shaking his head.

“Respectfully, Riley, you don’t know,” he pushes out, his eyes locking on mine.

“I want this—us—but what they’re saying?

That cuts deep. I know you’ve been stuffed into a life you don’t want, but the whispers around you are about how much money you have, who’s going to be your Alpha.

They look at me and tell me I’ll never find a mate, that I’m a monster, a freak, that I don’t belong.

Sure, they say it quietly, but I have ears.

Not everyone’s like that, but it’s always been like this.

I’ve gotten used to hearing it, but that doesn’t mean it hurts any less. ”

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, my voice trembling, my eyes stinging with tears I can’t hold back. I want to fix it, to shield him from every cruel word, but I can’t—not really.

He shakes his head, his hand lifting to brush my cheek, his thumb rough but gentle against my skin.

“It’s not your fault, but I just need you to understand that this won’t stop.

It might get better, but it would happen regardless of who I chose.

Maybe less if it hadn’t been you.” His voice cracks on that last part—the implication that I’ve made it worse, that my spotlight has turned his shadows darker.

My breath catches, and I look up at him, tears spilling over as I force the words out. “I’ll understand if we part ways. I don’t want you to suffer.” It hurts to say it but I mean it—if leaving me spares him this, I’ll let him go, even if it kills me.

Leo’s eyes widen, then soften, and he caresses my cheek, his touch pulling me back from my emotional distress.

“I’ve thought about it,” he admits. “Thought about ending what just started, but it felt like I was dying. I just needed some time to think and found myself over here. I’m not going anywhere, Riley.

I can’t.” He pauses, his thumb tracing the curve of my jaw.