Chapter 45: Rhy’s Breaking point
Rhys
In an hour, we had reached the airport and made our way into the team’s jet. We’d barely stepped onto the plane before I was already looking for a way to be near Kayden.
As we reached the first row, Kayden sat down, placing Starlight on his lap. I moved to slide into the spot right beside Kayden when a sudden force shoved past me.
I stumbled back a step, my shoulder hitting the overhead bin, and then I turned, wondering who had dared to push me. Then I saw the blonde hair.
For a beta with a small body, he had insane strength. I had almost fallen to the floor.
Before I could process what was happening, Leo had already claimed the seat, settling in beside Kayden as if he owned the damn craft.
"Leo," I heard Kayden mutter, but the annoying doctor just shrugged in response.
A low, involuntary growl ripped from the back of my throat, and I didn’t care who heard it. I didn’t care if the coach was three rows back.
"What the hell is your problem with me?" I snapped, my voice vibrating with anger. I towered over him, my fists clenching at my sides as I waited for him to even try to justify the move.
Leo didn’t even look up at first. He calmly adjusted his glasses, his expression cool, as if he hadn’t made a messy move. "Your existence," he responded simply. The words were flat, devoid of any emotion other than pure disdain.
It was clear now that he and Kayden had talked about me, because why else would the team physician hate me all of a sudden?
"Oh goodness, Leo," Kayden groaned. "Rhys, Leo... please, just stop," Kayden muttered, his voice sounding small and exhausted as he looked between us. He looked like he wanted to disappear from our sight.
Leo scoffed and then, without taking his eyes off me, he shifted closer to Kayden. In one smooth, possessive motion, he wrapped his arm around Kayden’s shoulders, pulling him firmly against his chest.
He tilted his head back, his eyes locking onto mine with a mocking expression, as if he was daring me to do my worst, and it was working.
I felt my heart thumping hard in my chest, my hands shaking miserably and my pheromones about to leak out. I shouldn’t act this way, shouldn’t care, but this was Kayden and he was mine only.
Whatever relationship they had before shouldn’t exist anymore, not when I had claimed Kayden as mine. I might not have marked him, but he was mine.
I clenched my fists tightly as I watched Leo lean closer again, brushing Kayden’s hair behind his ear as he whispered.
I expected Kayden to push him away, to make it known that he was mine, but instead, Kayden laughed at his unfunny jokes.
It got me questioning the moment we shared last night. Did he not care about it?
Even Starlight seemed to enjoy the moment as she snuggled closer to them.
"I..." I tried to speak but I was lost for words because the pilot was announcing takeoff and I had to sit down.
I clenched my fists tightly because I couldn’t do anything without revealing my secret with Kayden to the team. I just stared at them whispering and laughing as if I didn’t exist.
Why wasn’t Kayden pushing him away? Does he not want me anymore? As pathetic as I sounded, I had thought that last night I had shared everything.
So why the hell was he being indifferent?
It was all because of Leo. I am going to kill him, I thought, the words repeating in my head like a dark, rhythmic chant. I’m going to wait until we’re at thirty thousand feet, drag him to the emergency exit, and see if his medical degree helps him survive the fall.
I could imagine exactly how his neck would feel under my hands—how easy it would be to snap that arrogant composure of his.
He thought he was safe because we were in a confined space with the team. He was wrong. The only thing keeping me from lunging over the seat and tearing him apart was the fact that Kayden’s hand was resting on his.
The bastard had the nerve to tell me my existence was the problem while he sat there draped over my man as if he belonged there.
If they were exes, I’d erase every memory of him from Kayden’s skin. If they weren’t, I’d make sure Leo lived long enough to regret ever looking in Kayden’s direction.
The intercom sounded again, announcing takeoff, and Leo looked towards me again.
"Captain, are you going to stand for takeoff? Or are you planning on testing the laws of physics against your skull when we hit the clouds?" Leo’s voice was smooth as he spoke, dripping with a condescending sweetness that made me want to see if his own skull was as thick as his ego.
He sighed and turned back to face Kayden as he continued, his hand still resting possessively on Kayden’s shoulder. "I wouldn’t recommend it. Rapid deceleration tends to be quite... unkind to the central nervous system. But then again, I suppose you’re used to taking hits to the head. It’s why you ruin others’ lives."
That was the second time he said I was ruining someone, and I wondered if he meant Kayden—that if fucking him means ruining him.
"Sir, please make your way to your seat; the pilot is about to take off," one of the hostesses announced behind me.
I nodded, cast a look at Leo and Kayden before walking down the aisle, and found Miller slumped in a seat a few rows back, just like the rest of the teammates dealing with hangovers.
I dropped into the seat beside him with a heavy thud, my chest heaving as I stared a hole into the back of Leo’s blonde head.
"Why are you pouting so loudly? It’s vibrating through the floorboards," Miller mumbled. He didn’t even open his eyes, but his brow was furrowed under that thick white plaster.
"I’m not pouting," I hissed, though even I knew I sounded like a petulant child. "I’m planning a murder," I said, buckling the seat belt around me.