Chapter 14
Knox
The disciplinary hearing was already in session when I kicked open the conference room door. The sound echoed like a gunshot, making half the room jump.
"Mr. Maddox, you can't be here," Commissioner Adam Bryant said from his seat at the head of the table. League officials, team management, and lawyers filled every chair. They'd been discussing my fate without me.
"Like hell I can't," I said, stalking into the room.
"Security!" Richards called out.
"Try it," I growled, and even the security guards hovering by the door hesitated. "I have something to say."
"This is a closed hearing," Bryant insisted.
"About me. About my mate. And you're having it without us," I said, letting the word 'mate' ring through the room.
The silence was deafening.
"Your... mate?" Bryant asked carefully.
"Dr. Harper Graves. My mate. My claimed Omega," I stated clearly, my voice carrying to every corner. "And if anyone in this room has a problem with that, we can settle it right now."
"Mr. Maddox, please," Sullivan tried to intervene.
"No," I cut him off. "You've all been talking about Harper like she's some victim. Like I forced something. So let me be crystal clear." I looked at each person at the table. "Harper is mine. By choice. By bond. By every law that matters to our kind."
"This is highly inappropriate," one of the lawyers started.
"What's inappropriate is threatening an Omega's medical license because she was claimed," I shot back. "What's inappropriate is management trying to force her to resign because they're uncomfortable with biology."
"Knox," Peterson spoke up from where he sat with other players they'd called as witnesses. His jaw was still wired, but his voice was clear enough. "Sit down before you make this worse."
"Worse?" I laughed. "They've already suspended me indefinitely. They've already tried to destroy Harper's career. How does it get worse?"
"Mr. Maddox, your violence on the ice was inexcusable," Bryant said.
"My violence was protecting my mate from harassment," I corrected. "Briggs called her my 'pet doctor.' Said worse things I won't repeat. Any Alpha in this room would have done the same."
"Not everyone would have nearly killed him," Richards pointed out.
"No? Then they're weak," I said simply.
Chen stood up suddenly. "Commissioner Bryant, may I speak?"
Bryant looked surprised. "Mr. Chen, you're here as a witness to the assault."
"I'm here as Knox's teammate," Chen corrected. "And I need to say something."
"Sit down, Chen," Richards warned.
"No, sir. With respect," Chen said, then turned to address the room. "What happened on the ice was excessive, yes. But what happened at the hotel? That was a medical emergency."
I stared at Chen, surprised.
"Dr. Graves was going into heat," Chen continued. "Dangerously. The suppressants failed. We could all smell it on the plane. If Knox hadn't helped her, she could have died."
"That's not..." Bryant started.
"Ask any Omega specialist," Mitchell chimed in, standing as well. "Suppressed heats that break through suddenly? Without an Alpha? The fever alone can be fatal."
"Knox saved her life," Peterson added, his words slightly slurred through the wires but clear. "Then claimed her, as was his right as the Alpha who helped her through it."
"This is ridiculous," Richards exploded. "They're lying to protect him."
"Are we?" Ben, our Beta goalie, stood up. "I was on the plane. I sat next to Dr. Graves. She was dying. The fever, the shaking. It was a medical emergency."
One by one, my teammates stood. Even the ones I'd fought with. Even the ones who feared me.
"It was a medical emergency," they said in unison.
Bryant looked around the room, calculating. The story was clean, defensible. A medical emergency, not misconduct. An Alpha protecting an Omega in crisis, not taking advantage.
"And the violence against Briggs?" Bryant asked.
"Defending his newly bonded mate from harassment," Sullivan said suddenly, surprising everyone. "Perhaps excessive, but understandable given the circumstances. The bond was less than 24 hours old. Any Alpha would be... volatile."
"Coach?" Richards stared at Sullivan in shock.
"I'm stating facts," Sullivan said simply. "Knox has been suspended for four games already. Briggs has recovered. Perhaps that's punishment enough."
Bryant was quiet for a long moment. "Dr. Graves would need to confirm this version of events."
"Then ask her," I said.
"She's not here," Bryant pointed out.
"Because you tried to threaten her into resigning this morning," I shot back. "But she's right outside."
I could feel her through the bond, her mix of anxiety and determination.
"Bring her in," Bryant ordered.
Harper entered, head high, wearing professional clothes that couldn't quite hide the claiming mark on her neck. She'd left it deliberately visible.
"Dr. Graves," Bryant addressed her. "Can you confirm the nature of your... situation with Mr. Maddox?"
"Yes," Harper said clearly. "I experienced a dangerous suppression failure during the storm. Knox provided necessary assistance during a medical emergency. The claiming happened after, between two consenting adults."
"You don't feel you were coerced?" Bryant asked carefully.
Harper's laugh was sharp. "Commissioner, I'm an Omega who's worked in professional sports for five years. I've handled unwanted Alpha attention since day one. If I didn't want Knox, trust me, he'd know it."
"The violence against Briggs?" Bryant pressed.
"Was excessive," Harper admitted, making me tense. "But Briggs sexually harassed me verbally. Knox responded as a newly bonded Alpha. Perhaps the league should examine why Briggs felt comfortable making those comments in the first place."
The threat was subtle but clear. Push this, and she'd make it about the league's culture toward Omegas.
Bryant understood. "I see. Well. Given the... unusual circumstances, and the medical emergency context, the league is willing to reinstate Mr. Maddox after a six-game suspension, time already served counting toward it."
"And Dr. Graves' position?" I demanded.
"That's a team matter," Bryant said carefully.
"She stays," Sullivan said firmly. "The team needs her medical expertise."
Richards opened his mouth to protest, but Sullivan shot him a look that could have melted steel.
"Then we're done here," Bryant said, standing. "Mr. Maddox, Dr. Graves, congratulations on your... bonding."
As the room cleared, Harper moved to my side. Through the bond, I felt her relief mixed with something else. Pride.
"You stood up for me," she said quietly.
"We stood up for each other," I corrected, taking her hand.
"This isn't over," she warned. "Richards won't forget."
"Let him try something," I said, pulling her closer. "He'll learn what happens when someone threatens what's mine."
She smiled, dangerous and beautiful. "What's ours."
"Ours," I agreed, and kissed her right there in the conference room, claiming her again in front of anyone still watching.
Let them talk. Let them gossip.
Harper Graves was mine, and the whole world could deal with it.