Rhys

When we finally got to the Oak City Mega Arena after almost two hours on the road, the energy on the bus had started to come back a little.

It kicked off with Jaxson. He let out a loud yawn that turned into a big stretch, his arms reaching up until his knuckles almost hit the ceiling of the bus. He shook himself like a dog coming out of water and grinned at the rest of us as we started climbing down the steps toward the locker room.

"Alright, boys, time to wake the hell up!" Jaxson called out, his voice loud and bouncing off the concrete walls of the underground parking area. "This is Game 7. The big one. You look like you just rolled out of bed, but we’re about to go win a Cup. Let’s get loud, let’s get moving! Northern Avalanche doesn’t sleepwalk into history!"

A few of the guys chuckled or muttered "Shut up, Jax" under their breath, but you could see shoulders straightening and steps getting a bit firmer as we filed off the bus. Even Miller looked more awake, rubbing his bad shoulder as he followed.

I hung back a second, watching Kayden as he climbed down the steps ahead of me. He looked dead tired. His movements were slower than usual, and when he reached the last step his foot slipped. He started to pitch forward.

I moved fast and caught him around the waist before he could hit the ground. My arm stayed tight around him for a moment longer than it needed to.

"You okay?" I asked quietly, keeping my voice low so the others wouldn’t hear.

Kayden nodded right away, but I could feel the heat coming off his body through his hoodie. He was burning up.

"No, you’re not," I said.

I didn’t let go of him as I turned toward Leo and called him.

Leo turned around at the sound of my voice, his medical bag already slung over his shoulder. He took one look at Kayden leaning against me and his face changed.

"Coach," I called out, still holding Kayden steady. "We’ve got an issue."

Coach Reddick stopped and walked back over, eyebrows pulled together. "What’s going on?"

"Kayden’s running a fever," I said. "He almost fell getting off the bus."

Leo didn’t waste time as he rushed toward us. "Let’s get him back on the bus for a quick check. Right now. Everyone else, head to the locker room and start your normal warm-up routine. We’ll be there in a minute."

Coach Reddick nodded in response. "Alright guys, let’s go prepare to hit the ice for practice."

The rest of the team exchanged worried looks but kept moving toward the arena entrance.

Jaxson gave Kayden a quick clap on the shoulder as he passed. "Don’t you dare be sick on me today, man. I’ll be waiting for you."

"Should I stay behind?" Miller offered, but Leo shook his head. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"No, we will manage here," Leo responded. Even when his assistant offered to stay behind, he shook his head in response to their offer for help. "There will be no need. He is just exhausted."

Once everyone had left and we helped Kayden back onto the bus and the doors closed behind us, Leo had Kayden sit down on one of the seats. He pulled out his thermometer and a blood pressure cuff, moving quickly and efficiently like always.

Kayden stayed quiet, eyes half-closed, breathing a little heavier than normal.

Leo pressed the thermometer to Kayden’s forehead, then checked his pulse and listened to his chest with the stethoscope. After a minute he let out a long sigh and looked between the two of us.

"What is happening?" I asked Leo, my voice tighter than I wanted it to be. My hand stayed on Kayden’s back, feeling the unnatural heat pouring off him through his hoodie.

Leo looked at Kayden first, his face serious. He kept his voice low even though we were alone on the bus. "Kayden... do you want me to say it in front of Rhys?"

Kayden didn’t answer right away. He just sat there breathing slowly and heavily, sweat starting to bead on his forehead. After a second he gave a small, tired nod.

Leo let out a long breath and turned to me. "Alright. Kayden is in the early stages of his heat. since he has been pretending to be an alpha for five years now — using heavy suppressants and pheromone blockers the entire time. That means he hasn’t gone through a single heat cycle in five years. His body has been holding everything back, and now the delay is catching up to him all at once. The high temperature, the exhaustion, the way he nearly fell getting off the bus — these are the first clear signs. Because he suppressed it for so long, this heat is going to hit much harder than a normal one. He’s at high risk of crashing badly: severe cramps, spiking fever, disorientation, and total exhaustion that could knock him flat. I warned him multiple times that pushing the blockers during a long, high-stress playoff run like this could cause exactly this kind of rebound. He didn’t listen."

"But the sex between us should stop..."

Leo shook his head. "It doesn’t work that way for Omega Primus. They are different, and even if you both fuck a hundred times, he will still get his heat, especially since he has not had any in years."

Leo paused and placed a hand on Kayden’s forehead. "As his alpha, your pheromones are already interacting with his system right now. Your scent is slowing the onset a little because your blood chemistry is acting as a natural stabilizer, but it’s only buying us a short window. It won’t stop what’s coming."

"Explain it in normal terms," I said. "Please."

Leo nodded and dropped the medical talk. "Simple version: Kayden’s real heat is finally breaking through after five years of being completely suppressed with drugs. He’s burning up because his body is trying to make up for lost time all at once. If it keeps building like this, he’s going to crash hard, have bad fever, strong cramps, and exhaustion that could take him out completely. He might not be able to play in the finals tonight.’’