Chapter 67: The Velocity of betrayal
Kayden
Every breath felt like I was being stabbed with glass. The car was moving fast, and I could feel the vibration of the tires through the floorboards because Rhys was driving too fast.
I knew he was angry. I could feel every bit of his emotions from the way he glared at me, the way his fists tightened around the steering wheel.
I stole a glance at him through my blurred vision. His jaw was clenched so tightly I thought his teeth might crack, and he wouldn’t even look at me. I was right there, yet it felt like I was invisible to him.
A fresh wave of heat surged through my gut, forcing me to double over. A choked sob escaped my throat before I could stop it.
"Rhys..." I wheezed, my fingers digging into the leather seat. "Can you slow down and listen to me?" I begged, tears streaming down my face.
"SHUT UP!" Rhys roared, his voice exploding inside the small space.
He slammed his fist against the steering wheel with a violent thud that sent me flinging against the door. The car swerved for a split second before he jerked it back into the lane, his chest heaving.
"Don’t you dare talk to me, Kayden!" he yelled. "You lied to my face every single day. You let me touch you, knowing full well that you are an Omega. Who knows if you seduced me just to take my position on the ice and make yourself the next sensation everyone should look forward to?"
Rhys turned to face me for a split second, frowning. "I even trusted you with things I never told anyone, all while you were playing this sick game, pretending to be an Alpha."
"It wasn’t a game," I whispered as more tears spilled over and burned my flushed cheeks.
His words hurt, really hurt, because he had no idea what it took to survive every day while living on suppressants. How I played hockey praying I wouldn’t be discovered.
If not for that drink, he would never have found out, because this was exactly what I had always feared.
His reaction was just as I had imagined it would be, angry and unwilling to accept what I am.
"It wasn’t a game, Rhys," I repeated. "I had my reasons and I..."
"Had your reasons?" Rhys laughed and slammed his hand against the wheel again.
I could smell his pine scent leaking out, overpowering mine and making it hard to concentrate as all I wanted was to be touched by him.
It wasn’t me who wanted it. It was my Omega instincts reacting to his.
"What reasons would make you stupid enough to walk into a league filled with Alphas and Betas?" he shouted. "It isn’t news that Omegas are not allowed to play any sports, yet you joined anyway, lying to the world and to your teammates. For what useless reason? If you are an Omega, then you should know your place instead of playing pretend." He hit the wheel again.
"Everything about you must be fake, right? Including your name. Including who you are."
He scoffed and pointed a finger at me.
"Do you know what you are, Kayden?" he asked.
I shook my head, sniffling as I wiped the tears streaming down my face.
"You are a masterpiece of lies, Kayden, and I was the idiot who believed in you. I can’t believe that I..." He took his eyes off the road for a moment, looking at me with a murderous expression.
"I can’t believe I knotted you and you let me. Was that part of your plan too? Or wait..." He turned back to the road and let out a bitter laugh.
"Did my grandfather send you to seduce me so you could have my child? Was that the plan? Is that why he was acting that way toward you at the birthday, because this was already planned out?" He laughed and clicked his tongue, then palmed his forehead. "I can’t believe I trusted you. I even thought that you liked me and I..."
He lowered his head and bit his lower lip, hitting the steering wheel again and again.
I was too weak to speak. The things he was saying hurt far more than the pain from the draught. It felt like my insides were being torn apart. I knew he was angry about the lies, but he had no right to associate me with his vile grandfather
I would never agree to any deal or transaction with that man.
"You..." I stuttered, trying to tell him he was wrong about me, but my hands shook so badly I couldn’t even clench my fists to release my anger.
My orchid scent was everywhere now, and I knew Rhys could smell it. It made me wonder what was going on inside his head.
I felt naked, exposed in a way that made me want to disappear, at least from his sight.
"Rhys..." I tried to speak again, but he raised a hand, stopping me.
"Don’t speak. Don’t even breathe," he growled, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous tone that made my hair stand on end. "Your scent is filling the car and making me want to pin you to this seat and fuck you until you can’t breathe."
He paused as he made a turn, then let out a cold, sharp laugh that cut through me.
"But trust me," he hissed, eyes fixed on the dark road ahead. "That is the absolute last thing I would ever do to you now. I wouldn’t touch you again even if you were the last Omega on earth." His voice hardened. "You are just like my family. Manipulative liars who enjoy playing with other people’s feelings because they’re insecure about their own."
He exhaled sharply. "I should have known when I first met you. I should have seen through you when Coach Reddick forced you to stay in my home. I should have seen through all your lies. But I didn’t. And you know what hurts the most?"
He faced me again, his glare gone. In its place was something worse.
Pain.
"You were the first guy I ever liked in my life. I thought we could be something more. But it was just wishful thinking."
The words hit me so hard a broken sob tore from my chest. I burst into tears, my body shaking violently as I broke down against the seat.
My vision blurred as I cried until it felt like I was suffocating beneath the weight of his disappointment.
I wanted to tell him that not everything was a lie. I wanted him to say something else, anything else, even if it was yelling. But Rhys didn’t speak again. He went completely silent, his face like stone under the dim glow of the dashboard.
As we neared the Glacier Dome, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, holding it out to me without looking my way.
"Call Leo," he commanded. "Ask if anyone else is at the Dome."
My hands trembled as I stared at the phone, my breath coming out in broken gasps. My chest ached as I reached for it, my fingers fumbling while tears dripped onto the screen.
I shakily dialed Leo’s number. The phone rang twice before his voice answered.
"Who is this?"
"It’s... it’s me," I choked out. I would have passed out if not for Rhys’s pheromones grounding me.
"Kayden?" Leo paused, suspicion instantly replacing his annoyance. "Why are you calling from this number? Where is your phone?"
I tried to explain, but my mouth opened and closed uselessly. I was shaking too hard to form words.
Before I could say anything else, Rhys reached over and snatched the phone from my hand. He didn’t look at me. His eyes stayed locked on the road.
"Leo, this is Rhys," he said, irritation sharp in his tone. "Your little friend is in trouble."
The line went silent.
"Listen carefully," Rhys continued, his grip tightening on the wheel as we sped toward the Dome gates. "If there is anyone at the Dome right now, speak up in three seconds. If there isn’t, don’t say a word and meet us at the front of the clinic."
He waited.
One.
Two.
Three.
The silence was answered enough and Rhys ended the call.