Chapter 49: Clinical Denial
Leo
I had spent five years keeping Kayden’s secret and keeping him alive. I’ve forged records, sourced black-market suppressants that would cost me my license, and stayed up until dawn monitoring his vitals when his body tried to reject the chemicals—all so he could fulfill his dreams as hockey player.
So, watching him enter the lavatory with Rhys Calder only meant one thing: they were about to fuck again, and Kayden would stupidly let him knot him again.
I stood in the aisle, glaring at Miller as he was still holding my waist, and then gently, I pushed him away. "Again, you are a terrible liar, Miller Reid," I whispered.
"But I am a great kisser," Miller murmured, smirking at me.
The mention of the kiss sent a jolt of heat through me that I immediately converted back into my old self. I reached down and shoved his head back against the headrest with a bit of force.
"If you dare mention that kiss again," I hissed, leaning over him until my glasses nearly touched his nose. "I will ensure you actually end up with a grade-four concussion. I have a variety of needles in my bag, Miller, and I am not above stabbing you with every single one of them just to hear you stop talking."
Miller’s eyes widened in shock and he visibly gulped, but I wasn’t done. My gaze dropped lower, pointedly landing on the prominent bulge in his pants.
"Last time you were in my company, you ended up with a plastered forehead which I had to spend all night stitching, but this time, it won’t be your head anymore. Your cock will make a perfect specimen for the formaldehyde jars in my lab. I have been looking for a new anatomical display."
Miller cleared his throat and immediately looked away from me. "Just go," he muttered.
"Very well." I rubbed a finger on his plastered forehead and scoffed before walking away and heading to the lavatory.
I knocked quickly, hoping they were not already fucking themselves. "Kayden," I called. No response. "I know you both are in there and getting Miller to fake a head injury is stupid. Come out or I will wake your sleeping teammates."
The latch opened and Kayden walked out, exchanging a brief look with me before heading toward his seat. I followed behind him.
"Are you not going to heed my warning, Kayden?" I whispered as I dropped into the seat beside him after returning from the lavatory. He had his head leaned against the window and his eyes closed because he already knew what was coming—what I was about to say to him.
"I warned you, Kayden, but it seems like you wouldn’t listen to me!"
Kayden groaned lightly, opened his eyes but didn’t look at me; he stared straight ahead. "Leo, please, not here."
"If not here, then where? In a forensic lab after you have collapsed on the ice?" I shifted closer, leaning into his personal space to ensure my voice stayed beneath the hum of the jet’s engines. "You are playing a game you cannot win. You think those suppressants will last long? I already told you what knotting does to you while on high-grade synthetics—and also, you mixed it," I paused, lowering my voice again, "with contraceptives."
Kayden flinched, his fingers curling into the fabric of his jacket. He heaved a deep sigh and rubbed a hand on his face. I don’t know why I had continuously repeated myself, but Kayden was a friend I had looked out for for years, and seeing him go through the wrong path would destroy him.
"The hormonal spike from a knot would trigger implementation rejection of the suppressants currently in your bloodstream," I told him and lowered my head as I continued. "Your body would go into immediate localized shock as your endocrine system tries to force a heat that the chemicals are trying to block. Your secret wouldn’t just be exposed; you would be convulsing, and it could lead to your death." I raised my head and looked at him. "You are courting a medical catastrophe for the sake of that Alpha’s dick. That is a true alpha and you are an omega primus known for being compatible with his likes!"
I adjusted my glasses, my mind flashing to the first time Kayden and I had met. He was all covered in bruises and I had tended to his wounds; we became friends that day.
"I am perfectly fine, Leo," Kayden finally answered after a moment of silence and raised his hands. "Look at me," he said proudly. "I know the risks and we haven’t..." He paused and looked up.
I followed his gaze as Rhys Calder walked past, heading back toward his seat.
Our eyes met, and for five agonizing seconds, we simply glared at one another. Neither of us said a word. I don’t hate Rhys Calder, but he had no idea what he was doing. Kayden seemed to be fond of him, but what happens when he finds out Kayden’s secret? Would he be able to accept him for who he was?
I know he was making an effort by sending his friend Miller after me, but that wasn’t going to change anything, especially if Kayden wants to keep playing hockey.
"He is going to ruin you, Kayden. Don’t say I didn’t warn you."
Kayden let out a groan. "Rhys is not going to. You are judging him too much and I..."
I scoffed, and just as I was about to respond, the mewing of the Maine Coon kitten sounded in front of us. "Starlight," Kayden said excitedly as he picked her up and placed the cat on his leg. "Cute baby."
The cat purred, yawned lazily, and then closed her eyes.
"You must think you and that Alpha have something together now because you both have a cat, right?"
Kayden furrowed his brows in confusion and before he could speak, I cut him off. "I just don’t want you to get hurt while being in your little delusional world. The dick might be good, but Rhys looks like the type that just wants to fuck you."
"I know," Kayden countered. "I know it’s not serious, and as for Starlight, we both..."
I scoffed and he cast me a glare. "Pardon me." I raised my hands defensively. "I am just looking out for you," I told him, shifting in my seat. "Anyways, I have to do a checkup on you immediately after we land before you play tomorrow." I told him and leaned my head back against the headrest, closing my eyes.
"Thank you for always looking out for me," he whispered. I just nodded in response, then he spoke up again.
"So," he drawled. "What is it with you and Miller? Do you like him?"
I opened one eye, fixing Kayden with a look I give my crazier patients. "’Like’ is a subjective emotional term that has no place in my line of work, Kayden. If you are asking if I find Miller Reid’s presence tolerable, the answer is a resounding no."
Kayden shifted and smirked at me. "He was holding onto you pretty tight a while ago, Leo."
"He is a reckless, impulsive liability," I stated and adjusted my glasses with a sharp flick of my finger. "That man is a walking whore. I have read the tabloids in my leisure time and I am perfectly aware of the data regarding his social life. The man is a walking, breathing public health hazard. He jumps from skirts to trousers and his flirtation is as shameless as it is mathematically exhausting."
I felt my jaw tighten as I remembered the feel of his lips against mine. I shouldn’t, but I did find it likable—only because it had happened when I was a bit tipsy. I would never kiss him ever again.
"Physically? Yes, I like him," I continued. "I mean, he is an aesthetically pleasing specimen. A ’hot man,’ as you would colloquially put it. But biologically and socially? He is a walking whore. He is a distraction I do not have the time or the mental bandwidth to manage."
I finished my assessment with a sharp nod, as if I had just successfully diagnosed a terminal illness. Beside me, there was a deafening silence. I turned my head to find Kayden staring at me, his eyes widened and his mouth slightly agape. He looked like I had just started speaking in a forgotten ancient language.
"What?" I asked, my brow furrowing.
"I have just never seen you act like that," Kayden whispered, the shock evident in the way he forgot to hide his surprise for a moment. "Your ears are turning red as you speak about him, Leo."
I felt the heat crawl up my neck and immediately I suppressed it with a scoff and rolled my eyes. "I am merely pointing out the obvious, Kayden," I replied coldly. "I suggest you focus on your own disastrous life choices and leave my physical assessments to me."
"Of course." Kayden laughed and turned to Starlight. "Some people can’t accept that they can feel, and it’s okay."
I wanted to reply to him, but then suddenly, the intercom sounded and it was the pilot announcing landing.