Chapter 66: He was never an Alpha
Rhys
I had never heard of any Alpha being in pain from a Primal Draught.
It was designed to be a gift to our kind, a surge of adrenaline and strength.
But Kayden was burning up in my arms, writhing in pain so intense he couldn’t even form a sentence.
I looked down at him, my mind racing as I tried to make sense of the agony etched into his features.
"Why are you like this? It’s not supposed to hurt you unless you are..." I stopped before I could finish the words.
My heart hammered against my ribs. There was no way in hell he was one. I had seen him on the ice. I had felt his strength. He was the most aggressive, talented player I had ever met. He couldn’t be.
"Kayden," I whispered slowly. "Are you... are you an Omega?"
Kayden opened his mouth to answer, but instead of words, a broken gasp escaped him. Then the air around us changed. It happened in a heartbeat as the scents I found irresistible filled the space.
Orchid. It was like orchids in the rain, a fragrance so pure and intoxicating it made my Alpha instincts roar to the surface. It was powerful, overwhelming, and impossibly sweet.
Kayden’s eyes widened in terror as he grabbed my suit. "Leo... I need Leo," he cried, his voice trembling with a desperation that cut straight through me. "Please get me out of here before they smell it, before anyone comes and finds out..."
I stared at him, the realization finally settling into my bones like ice. "You are an Omega," I finished, my voice sounding foreign in my own ears. "Kayden, you’ve been lying to me, to everyone, all this time. You’re an Omega."
"Rhys, please," he choked out as another wave of pain doubled him over. "Just take me to Leo. Please, I need him. He can... he can help me out and..."
"Leo?" I yelled, the name tasting like poison in my mouth.
My grip on his shoulders tightened as anger and confusion surged through my chest. "You keep mentioning Leo. Is Leo involved in this? Does he know? Has he known this whole time while I was kept in the dark? Is that why he’s like that around you? Because he knew? Right?" I scoffed.
Just when I thought I had someone I could trust, someone I could open my heart to, everything turned out to be a lie.
"This is why you wouldn’t let me knot you? Why you..." I groaned, running a hand through my hair. "Oh, you liar." I almost shouted, but then my head tilted as a wave of dizziness hit me.
It was his pheromones. The drink had triggered his suppressed Omega energy, and now he was releasing so much into the air that I was tempted to pin him against the bench and knot him until he screamed my name, until I was finally tired of it.
That wasn’t what I wanted, but his pheromones smelled so sweet, so addictive, and I knew that soon the Alphas around us would be drawn to it and discover who he was.
Part of me wanted to leave him there so the world would find out that the powerful newbie hockey player of the Northern Avalanche was an Omega.
It would be one less rival for me. But I couldn’t. No matter how much I already hated him for lying to me, I couldn’t watch him suffer, and I couldn’t let another man touch him.
"You have some explaining to do, Kayden," I muttered before scooping him up into my arms.
"I’m sorry... Rhys, I’m so sorry," Kayden sobbed, the words breaking through his gasps of pain. He tried to pull away, but as he moved, I felt the shift in the atmosphere.
The heavy doors of the hall swung open. A group of males and females stumbled out into the night, their heads snapping in our direction. They were drawn by the scent, all of them looking like hunters searching for their prey.
"Kayden, stop," I growled as I hauled him back, hiding him behind my body and tucking him into the deepest shadows.
"Rhys, what’s going on?"
I looked up to see Miller running toward us. He looked panicked, his fingers flexing in the air as he caught the scent. "Is an Omega in heat? Rhys, everyone is going crazy in there. Is that the Omega?" he asked, his eyes darting toward the figure in my arms. "Who is it?"
Kayden let out a terrified whimper and buried his face deep into my suit so Miller wouldn’t see him. He was trembling so hard it felt like his bones might snap.
I glared at Miller, my eyes darkening with a possessive rage that made him flinch.
My Alpha instincts were screaming at me to kill anyone who looked too closely.
"He’s mine," I told Miller, my voice vibrating with warning. "He’s my Omega, and he went into heat tonight. I’m taking him home now."
Miller stood frozen, his eyes flicking between me and the person trembling against my chest.
The scent of orchids grew sharper and heavier, and the crowd near the doors began to inch closer.
"Did you come with your car?" I demanded.
Miller nodded slowly, still dazed. "Yeah, I..."
"Give me the keys," I ordered.
Miller stepped closer, curiosity getting the better of him as he tried to see Kayden’s hidden face, but I shouted at him.
"Don’t come any closer," I warned. "Just give me the keys, Miller. Now."
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled them out, throwing the keys toward me. I caught them with one hand, never loosening my grip on Kayden.
"Rhys, wait. Who is..."
I didn’t answer. I turned and headed for the parking lot, scanning for Miller’s car.
Kayden had buried his head so deep into my suit he was practically a part of me, and I could hear his muffled whimpers vibrating against my chest.
As I reached the edge of the paved path, I saw them.
My father and grandfather stood on the marble steps of the hall, staring directly at me.
They knew an Omega was out here, and they were watching me walk away with him in my arms after I had rejected the Omega they offered me.
My father’s eyes narrowed, his hands clenching at his sides as if he were about to order his security team to stop me. I didn’t stop. I didn’t even slow down.
I stared straight ahead, pretending they didn’t exist. At least they were not the reporters.
When I reached Miller’s car, I hit the unlock button and carefully slid Kayden into the passenger seat.
I just needed to get him to Leo before the world found out who he really was.
"You’re lucky I found you," I said as I climbed into the driver’s seat and jammed the key into the ignition.
Beside me, Kayden curled into a ball, his fingers clawing at the leather as the orchid scent continued to pulse through the car, suffocating and alluring at the same time.
Every breath made my body scream to pull over and take what was right in front of me, but I couldn’t.
How could I when he was dying?
I gripped the steering wheel until the leather groaned beneath my hands. I thought about every time he had outskated me, every time he had looked me in the eye and talked about the league, and every time he had pushed me away when things got too close.
And now it turned out he was an Omega.
I shifted into gear and peeled away from the curb, tires screeching against the gravel as we left my grandfather’s estate.
"Rhys..." Kayden whispered, his voice small and shaking. "I can... I can explain."
I let out a cold laugh as I turned onto the main road, glancing at him. "Save it, Kayden," I snapped.
"You’re a very bad liar." I muttered the last words, bitterness dripping from every syllable. "And no explanation in the world can save you from this."