Chapter 139: Please, Leo.

Chapter 139: Please, Leo.

Kayden

"After all, you are an Enigma!"

The words I had spoken aloud rang in my head. This was not how I had wanted Leo to find out I knew his deepest secret—the one he had thought was hidden from everyone, especially me.

For a moment, he did not react. He simply looked at me, and the silence that followed felt heavier than the rhythmic pounding inside my skull.

Leo had always been composed in a way that most people found unsettling, but right now, something had shifted. The way he was staring showed that he had lost his composure; he had not expected me to know.

"You should repeat what you just said," Leo finally replied, his voice flat as always.

I frowned, the fever making my thoughts sluggish. "Which part?"

"The last sentence," I asked, but he didn’t respond. He just glared at me, and that was all I needed to know that he wasn’t joking. I swallowed hard as a wave of dizziness swept through me. "I said you can help me because you are an Enigma."

Leo slowly removed his glasses, placing them on the metal counter. The small clink of the frames hitting the surface echoed loudly in the quiet clinic, making my heart jump in fright. He looked back at me, his eyes dark and unreadable.

I knew he had questions—lots of them—especially regarding how I had found out.

"How long have you known?" he asked.

I looked away, trying to come up with a lie, but I knew that trying to mislead Leo was like trying to outskate a blizzard.

"Since the beginning," I said, my voice raspy as I turned to face him again.

Leo didn’t move. He just pointed his finger toward me. "I would like it if you would be more specific about what you mean by ’beginning’."

I blinked, trying to focus. "Since the night I came to live with you."

His brows pulled together in confusion and he frowned at me. "You were barely a teenager. How the hell did you find out about that?"

I shifted on the bed, wincing as another wave of pain hit me. "I..." I stuttered and heaved a deep sigh before I continued. "I didn’t understand it then," I admitted. "But I heard it, and I remembered."

Leo rolled his eyes angrily and then scoffed. "What the hell did you remember? Who did you hear it from?" he demanded, tapping his foot on the ground.

"It was the first night I came to your house," I began, pausing for a moment to catch my breath. "I heard your mothers talking about it. They thought that I was asleep on the couch, but I was listening to their voices in the kitchen."

The clinic went silent after I finished talking. I expected Leo to say something immediately, but he didn’t; instead, he started pacing in front of me.

"Can you stop doing that, Leo? You are making me dizzy," I let out a groan, rubbing my face gently. "If you keep pacing around like that, I might faint."

"I don’t care," Leo fired back immediately, but there was no harshness in his tone.

I knew he had said it out of pure agitation. "All these years, Kayden," he sighed, running his hand through his hair.

"You hid this secret from me and didn’t let me know. How could you know about that and not tell me? I thought we were supposed to be friends?" He stopped pacing and pointed his finger at me again. "How could you?" He groaned and threw his hands up angrily. "So, if you didn’t need my help, you wouldn’t have told me about this?"

The clinic went silent again.

I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to him because he was right. I could have told him any night over the years, and the only reason I hadn’t was that I wanted him to trust me enough to tell me first.

"Leo, I am sorry," I told him, rolling onto my side on the bed. "The only reason I didn’t tell you," I coughed, "is because I was waiting for you to tell me. There must have been a reason why you didn’t tell me for years, why you kept yourself hidden. I don’t judge you for it; I would never do that."

Leo exhaled slowly, a sound of genuine irritation. "So instead of confronting me, you decided to pretend you did not know. A remarkably passive strategy, I have to say."

"It was the safest one," I snapped at him, then sighed after I realized my tone. "Look, Leo, I didn’t ask because if I did and you denied it, I’d lose the only person who actually knows what I am. I thought you might not like that I knew your secret."

That made the frown on his face disappear, and he started tapping his fingers against his arms. "You are aware that knowing this information does not suddenly qualify you for experimental endocrine manipulation. There is no way I am helping you this time. You have to let the heat happen!"

"Leo," I groaned, gripping the edge of the bed as a tremor shook my legs. "My skull feels like someone is driving nails into it. My temperature is climbing. You just told me my heat is about to hit like a freight train. So yes, I am requesting manipulation. You of all people should know how much this matters to me, Leo. I have been dreaming about winning the Cup ever since I was a child, and now that I am this close to it, I will never let anything stop me. Ever."

Leo walked closer, pressing two fingers against the pulse point in my neck. "Your heart rate is probably above one hundred and thirty-eight now, and your temperature is likely thirty-nine or so..."

"Is that bad?" I demanded.

"Moderately concerning," he said, though his eyes told a different story. "Which is why you shouldn’t play. I am already planning the ’disease’ you’ve come down with and—"

"The conference finals are in two days," I said, grabbing the hem of his coat. "I am playing in those games. I am not sitting on the bench because my biology decided to throw a tantrum, Leo. This is my dream, and I am not going to let anything stop me."

"Your biology is not throwing a tantrum. It is functioning exactly as designed."

"Well, I need it to stop!" I yelled, hitting my hand against the bed. "Leo, please—just this last time. Help me out like you always do. I really need to play."

Leo sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "There may be a theoretical option," he announced.

My eyes widened and I gripped his coat tighter.

"Don’t look too happy. I will give you a compound similar to what I gave you a few weeks ago. It will help you suppress the heat until the season ends, but..." He paused, dipping his hands into his coat pockets.

I raised my brows in anticipation, waiting for what he had to say.

"It is not that simple, Kayden. If the compound fails, the rebound effect will accelerate the heat to a lethal level. And if Rhys is exposed to your pheromones while you are in this state, his Alpha instincts will respond... aggressively. ’Logistically challenging’ would be an understatement. He would claim you in the craziest manner anyone has ever seen. And if the compound works and holds off the heat until the end of the season," he paused, smacking his lips together.

"You’ll experience the worst heat known to any Omega. Not even Rhys’s help will be able to save you. It would hurt you so badly you’ll want to die."

"You’re exaggerating."

"I rarely exaggerate," Leo responded. "You know I always speak the truth, and right now you are on a path to your death because of a game. You can watch your teammates win and play in the next season, so why the hell are you going to this length?"

Another wave of heat rolled through me, and I bit my tongue to keep from crying out.

Leo noticed the shift immediately and checked my pulse. "You stupid boy. You are burning up," he groaned.

"Just do it, Leo. I’ll take the pain when it comes. I really need to play in the games and win."

Leo nodded and turned toward the door. "I will begin preparing the compound. We will attempt to delay nature," he assured me. He started walking away but paused at the door. "But I suggest you prepare yourself, Kayden. Nature does not negotiate. When the compound effect finally wore off," he faced me, his eyes filled with pity. "You’ll be wishing that you had listened to me."

"I know," I responded, shutting my eyes and gritting my teeth as I tossed to the other side of the bed. "Don’t tell Rhys until this has ended," I begged him as I fluttered my eyes open.

"Apart from the games, why exactly are you doing this?"

I blinked, staring at the dim light in the center of the room. "Because," I whispered, "I plan on coming out as an Omega once the season ends."