Tasting The Forbidden

6. Not An Option

Derrek’s pov:

Heavens have mercy, I was doomed. I almost slipped. I was so ready to tell her that I would hate to have a manipulative mate… I could have ruined everything. This could have been the beginning of something I wasn’t ready for — something I might never be ready for.

As it was, I still stood a chance to put distance between us. I could still start dating and have her forget about me.

“And hurt our mate?” Ash, my wolf, growled. “Not a chance!”

“It’s for the best, and you know it,” I retorted before blocking him out of my mind, focusing on the woman I craved but could not have.

Truth be told, it was not even about ethics. Our laws allowed us to claim our mates, regardless of status, provided we were meant to be. No one would dare to ruin his life over a chosen mate, but a fated one? Oh hell and damnation, I knew she would be so worth it.

Her spike, her wit, the way her eyes crinkled as she smiled… everything about her was starting to appeal to me in ways it shouldn’t.

I kept telling myself that it would be okay. That as her teacher, I wouldn’t get much time to be drawn to her as a woman.

And yet, I had sat at their table. I had enjoyed seeing her squirm under my gaze. Hell, a growl of appreciation had almost escaped me as I smelled the divine scent of her arousal.

I had followed her, out of sheer instincts. Because my mate was running away from me, and my reaction was to chase her… But I told myself I needed to make sure she was okay.

Of course she’s okay, I breathed out inwardly, while looking into her wide defiant eyes. She’s just feeling the attraction though she can’t understand it.

“How’s she supposed to understand it if you won’t tell her you’re her mate?” My wolf rumbled in my mind,

“You and I both know that’s not an option,” I tried to make him see reason.

“For now,” he finished.

Weighing down his words, I found myself picturing a life with her. I could imagine myself telling her she was my mate, her unexpected and unparalleled joy, but also how relieved she would be to know that what we had wasn’t taboo too.

I could see myself doting on her like one would on a partner, and being the most generous lover ever, making her trash against the sheets, and scream my name in pleasure.

I could almost imagine her round with my pups, how possessive and protective I would become…

“That’ll be 32$,” the man at the register told me, bringing me out of my reveries, back to the present grim time.

I handed him my card, ready to pay up for our table, when my beautiful mate frowned.

I knew she was going to protest. I would expect no less from her.

“Mr Blackwood, please don’t feel pressured to pay for us, just because we sat together,” she let out softly.

She was endearing, and downright adorable. Pity I couldn’t have her!

“Do I look pressured to you?” I made a circular motion over my face with my finger jabbed at it to drive the point home.

“Well, no, but…”

“No buts, Parkers,” I retorted firmly, before a smile stretched my lips, “It’s my pleasure.”

“Thanks Mr Blackwood,” her best friend was the one to first acknowledge my gesture positively.

Soon, she followed suit with a timid thank you of her own.

“You’re welcome,” I said simply.

I was so ready to add to that sentence. Indeed, she was welcome to join me for pizza anytime. She was welcome to barge into my life and turn it upside down. She was welcome to share my bed and make me delirious with the need to possess her.

She was my mate, a woman I would forever crave but could not have. She was also my student, a girl I ought to be protecting, not lusting over.

I didn’t know it then, but Melissa Parkers was meant to be everything I could have ever hoped for. She could pack a punch, to the gut sure, but also to my cautiously built walls.

She was magnificent in ways she might not even be aware of… But I knew. I knew as she looked at me, fascination and curiosity in the depths of her eyes, that we were meant to burn together.

There was no avoiding her. Her Alpha was the only one who had believed my story. He welcomed me into his pack and offered me a job despite everything, despite my more than awkward circumstances.

I could not ruin this chance to start over from scartch by going after the Beta’s daughter, could I?

“See you tomorrow, Mr B,” Billy, my mate’s best friend said in parting, raising a hand in goodbye.

“See you then,” I nodded at him.

Melissa, on the other hand, merely said, “Bye bye.”

In a way, it felt like she couldn’t wait to get rid of me.

That night, howling to the full moon, I felt freer than I had been in months. Like a burden had been lifted off my chest… when truth be told, it was quite the opposite. I had one more obstacle to my plans. One more burden on my damned shoulders.

But no matter what my instincts told me, I knew what the right thing to do was — staying away from her was the only way. Maintaining a professional approach, and treating her exactly as a teacher should was a must.

Shifting back into my human form, and heading inside the cabin I had settled in the past weekend, I knew it wouldn't be that simple.

After all, the way she looked at me, like she wanted to devour me the same way I wanted to claim her, lingered in my mind, making me restless.

I was still thinking of her when my phone buzzed. It was a text from the Alpha.

His text was simple and matter-of-fact: I hope you’re adapting well. I look forward to seeing the wolves develop new skills under your care.

Guilt had me swallowing hard. Unjustified guilt. The man would surely understand if I explained that Melissa was my mate… Still, he was the only Alpha who had taken a chance on me. He had offered me a sanctuary, and given me a new identity as a teacher and combat coach.

I really couldn’t afford to disappoint him. Pursuing Melissa Parkers was just not an option.