Rhys

I moved closer to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It’s not your fault," I told him, but he raised his tear-filled face up and shook his head.

"Everything that happened was my fault. If I had let him be what he wanted to be, if I had not forced him to be somewhere else, maybe he would still be alive now. It’s because of me."

"No, Coach," Kayden told him and also placed a hand on his shoulder. "It’s because of the system, and you thought your brother was against it, that’s why you reported him. We all did stupid things as teenagers, so don’t blame yourself for what happened because it wasn’t your fault."

Coach Reddick sniffled and wiped the tears streaming down his face. "Thank you, both of you," he muttered and then raised his head. "I am proud of you, Kayden," he said, grabbing Kayden’s arm and pulling him into a warm hug. "You have great talent, and not letting you play because of what you are would be stupidity," he patted Kayden’s back gently before pulling away.

"No matter what the CEO says, I want you to know that I will support you. I won’t let anything happen to you. I was unable to protect Evan, but you," he paused and clamped his hands on Kayden’s shoulders, "I will do anything I can to support your dreams."

Kayden hugged him this time. "Thank you for everything, Coach."

When they pulled away again, I started to speak but got cut off by Kayden, who suddenly started whimpering in pain. He held his abdomen and then looked at me.

"Kayden? Are you alright?" I demanded.

He shook his head and groaned as he doubled over, holding his abdomen tighter. "I..." he gripped my forearm, his nails digging into my skin, and gritted his teeth. "It’s time," he groaned. "Rhys... it’s starting."

I already knew what he meant. It was his heat. I had expected that my soothing suppressant would at least help him for twenty hours, but I was wrong.

Kayden had pushed himself on the ice today, and that might have triggered the soothing pheromones to fade away quickly from his system.

"Uhm... is everything alright?" Coach Reddick asked, trying to touch Kayden, but I stopped him before he could.

During heat, alphas become fiercely territorial, and even though I respected Reddick, every instinct in my body screamed at me to keep his hand and everyone else’s off my omega.

"Don’t," I snapped, my voice coming out like a growl. "He... he..." I looked at Kayden, asking for his permission before I spoke.

He nodded at me to go on.

"Kayden is in heat, Coach. I need to get him out of here."

Coach Reddick’s eyes widened, but he stepped back immediately, nodding in agreement. "Go. Take the back exit. I’ll handle the guys and tell the CEO that Kayden had a medical emergency. Just get him safe."

"Thank you, Coach," I muttered to him and leaned down and scooped Kayden into my arms. He was burning up, his skin flushed and slick with sudden sweat, his head rolling against my shoulder.

I could feel him trembling, his fingers clutching the fabric of my jersey. "Rhys..." he whimpered in pain.

I said nothing and started walking, ignoring the throb in my taped-up shoulder. It was burning like hell, but getting Kayden to safety was all that mattered in that moment. I carried him through the quiet service corridors, avoiding the main locker room where the boys were still screaming.

Once I was out in the VIP lots, I spotted the car I had prepared for this moment. As I reached for the car and carefully shifted Kayden to open the door, he let out a broken, shaky breath.

"Rhys..." he whispered, his eyes fluttering open, clouded with pain. "I am sorry... I am ruining this celebration. You and I should be with the others now celebrating. I am ruining things for you."

I lowered him into the passenger seat as gently as I could, leaning over to buckle him in. I paused for a second, cupping his face with my hand, forcing him to look at me.

"Stop it, Kayden," I said, my voice firm but laced with a tenderness I only ever showed him. "I don’t care about anything else right now. None of that matters. The only thing that matters right now is your health and getting you home."

"But..." he tried to speak but screamed instead as another wave of pain hit him.

"We better get going," I muttered and slammed the door shut, jumped into the driver’s seat, and drove out of the arena lot.

As soon as I drove off, I looked towards Kayden, and he was still groaning in pain. Every few seconds, he would let out a low, pained whimper that made my protective instincts flare like a live wire.

"Rhys..." he panted after a moment. "How long until we get home?"

I reached over, brought one of my hands to his face, and wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead. His skin was hot as hell, and it pained me that I couldn’t do anything for him yet. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"We are not going back to my penthouse, Kayden," I said softly. "There would be too many reporters, too much noise. Right now, until the media dies down, you need a better place to recuperate."

"Where?" he whispered, clutching his stomach as another wave of cramps hit him.

I took my eyes off the road again and faced him. "I am taking you to the coast," I told him. "There’s a private boat waiting. We are heading to Osea."

Kayden’s eyes widened slightly through his discomfort. "Osea? The... exclusive island?"

I nodded. I hadn’t told him yet, but I had bought it ever since we returned from Langose. I had spent weeks having the villa renovated, ensuring it was stocked and secured, envisioning it as a sanctuary for the moments when the world becomes too loud for us to handle. Moments like this.

"I bought it for us. We are going to be spending our vacation there until the next season.