Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
KOEN
Why am I so fucking hot? I’m sweating, and I groan as I try to turn in my sleep. Except, I’m stuck and can’t move. Frowning, I decide that’s not right.
I may be a deep sleeper, but this is weird even for me. My eyes slowly open, but it takes a moment for me to understand what’s happening. My arms are tied over my head again, and Skylar and Rhodes are cuddling against me.
Why am I the omega cuddle toy? I know I fell asleep in my own bed last night, but I crashed hard after brushing the combined taste of cum, precum, and spit out of my mouth. The omega part of me didn’t want to do it, which is why I scrubbed the fuck out of my tongue.
I don’t care if I’m being contrary, but I don’t want alphas. Especially if their way of courting me is to tie me to their bed.
I must make a noise because Skylar yawns as he flops onto his back. It helps a little with the heat flooding my body but not by much. Fuck, I need Rhodes to get off me.
My feet are free, helping my range of motion as I twist my body to dump the cuddly psychotic goalie onto the mattress. It takes a few minutes and I’m sweaty by the time I manage it. The fan that’s blowing above our bodies helps cool me off, but I frown as I feel slightly crampy.
No. No. Fuck no.
I need space. I need air that isn’t flooded with alpha pheromones and doesn’t smell like rosemary and pineapple.
Oh shit! We all slept in, and I haven’t used my blocker cream in over twenty-four hours. I’ve been too busy to think about it, which means I didn’t reapply my cream. Goddamn, they smell so fucking good, and a lot like mine.
I know what the two alphas on either side of me taste like. My cream doesn’t work on my tastebuds, and the drag of Rhodes’ crown over my tongue was enough for me to get a really good idea of what he tastes like. It’s a crime that his scent and flavor is pineapple.
He’s too damn mischievous to taste like my favorite fucking fruit.
I wonder if alpha cum can also jump start my heat? Fuck, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a factor as well.
“Skylar!” I hiss, my face blank despite my inner panic.
My alpha pheromone cream isn’t going to save me anymore but a little space might help.
“Mmm,” he groans.
“I need to use the bathroom. I will piss the bed out of spite if you don’t let me loose,” I threaten.
Skylar yanks on a rope half asleep, releasing me before flopping onto his stomach to go back to sleep. I won’t admit this out loud, but the Saints had it in for the both of us. My back still twinges from when I fell onto my back on the ice.
Unfortunately, Skylar drops his heavy arm over my waist, and it takes some maneuvering to get out without waking him up.
Moving as quickly as possible, I go to the room I’m sleeping in and rush to take a shower.
I didn’t necessarily lie when I said I needed to piss, but I can take care of that in the shower too.
My plan is to buy what I need, and then disappear for a few days alone to have my heat.
I don’t know either of these alphas, and while they may enjoy tying me up and using my throat to come down, I refuse to be helpless around them.
My heat pains can turn me into a mindless creature, which is why I shut myself in a closet to avoid uncomfortable situations. I talk a really good game and will tell everyone going through your heat alone isn’t a big deal, but it’s incredibly painful.
My cream is addictive because it fries my nasal passages and also keeps me from smelling the dread and stink of fear in my closet. I don’t want to have the reminders of how awful it is, yet I can’t stop myself from pushing these alphas away.
I don’t know them well enough. So far, things have been very confusing. They act as if they care about my safety, but then also do shit like tie me up and force me to my knees in the locker room. Can I trust them when I beg for their bites not to give in to their instincts?
Drying off quickly, I curse when all I can find are the sweats I wore earlier. Rolling my eyes, I throw them on and quickly brush my teeth to greet this godforsaken day before putting on socks and my slides. Fuck, I also need some clothes and real damn shoes.
No matter how much this sweatsuit set smells like Skylar, I can’t survive on one pair of clothes. Still, I hold tightly to his scent as I find my phone and fish out the keys to the house from my suit pants before jogging down the hallway to freedom.
No one stops me, there’s no yelling, just the light snoring of two alphas. There’s another low, throbbing feeling deep in my stomach, enough to tell me shit is wrong, but nothing to panic about yet.
I’m a slow burn heat kind of person, and it usually gives me enough time to both warn me and allow me to settle my affairs.
The freezing cold as I walk out the door is nothing compared to the shrieking of the alarm. Fuck, I forgot they had one. The alarm isn’t usually armed while I’m home.
Rolling my eyes as I hear shouts from the second floor, I curse my luck as I slam the door shut to show that I’m the moment, the issue, and the whole ass problem before walking to my SUV. The sidewalks are icy and I slide a bit as I walk.
My first stop is for tennis shoes, jeans, sweatpants, and real fucking clothes.
I’m just backing down the driveway in my vehicle as Skylar and Rhodes open the front door, and I wave as I straighten my tires. I don’t know what possesses me to show them I’m fine. I’m going to claim temporary insanity here.
Driving away, I begin to make plans. I don’t want to be tracked in any way, so I’m headed to the bank to pull out cash. I’ll be limited on what hotels will take me, but I’ll suffer my coach fining me for not staying with Rhodes and Skylar.
A pang hits my chest because I know all the reasons why I have to run. They’re all the things that have been replaying in my mind since I woke up, which is what all of this comes down to. I need my freedom to be me, and I don’t know if I’ll lose myself in a pack.
I’ll be able to text my coach to let him know I’ll be working out from another location once I get to the hotel, which others have done in the past.
Swinging through a bank first, I go shopping for my essential clothing options, promising myself a more extensive trip later.
I’m going to need new suits for post games, since we usually wear comfortable clothing on our way to the locker rooms. I know other teams do things differently, but we all learned to be fast post games so we could walk out in our best.
Shaking my head at the oddities of hockey culture, and how different teams do different things, I drive to the omega sex shop.
In Lakeview, there are different shops that cater to different designations.
It’s to give everyone higher quality products without fetishizing us, and to ensure they’re what we actually need.
Unless an alpha does their research, they may not understand what I actually need in a sex toy as an omega.
Omega’s Playground is also tailored to work with my designation as well.
No sticky floors, odd smells, or bright lights.
In fact, my jaw releases as I walk through the doors, and I sigh as the tension slowly drains away.
Unfortunately, my stomach gurgles in annoyance because I’m starving.
I’ll have to get food before I find a hotel with a decent gym so I can work through the beginning stages of this pain.
Fuck, I need a heating pad too. I’ll add it to the long list in my brain to buy. Thankfully, I already bought a new rolling suitcase so I won’t look like I’m quite as homeless as I actually am.
My life is a mess, I’m just trying to keep my shit together the best I can. I lost everything in the flood. Coach hasn’t wanted to tell me how bad it is because he’s concerned about fucking with my head, but I walked through my apartment. I know a loss when I see it.
“Can I help you?” a man asks. He sounds perky and sweet, and everything that I’m not.
Turning to face the person speaking, I see a man with pink hair, a crop top that says Slutty and Knotted, and a black skirt with striped tights. He’s seriously an adorable femboy.
“I need to buy a heat kit,” I reply. “For someone who is single.”
The femboy’s eyes widen slightly before he nods.
“Well call me your fairy godbrother, because I’m gonna hook you up. No offense, but you’re too damn fine not to have alphas,” he says, fanning himself as my lips twitch in amusement.
“Looks aren’t always the issue,” I sigh. “I’m kind of in a hurry too.”
He looks at me as if I’m going to turn into a whining, slicking mess, and I roll my eyes.
“Not that close,” I snort.
“Fuck, you scared me. I don’t have a knot to help, but I do have lots of artificial ones,” he says. “I’m Ashley. My parents wanted a girl, and I’m almost that. Let’s grab you a basket so we can spend your money.”
“I’m more than fine with that. Thank you, Ashley.”
Bobbing his head, he walks me around with a basket. I’m pleased to see there are heating pads here, buttplugs that can be stuck in the freezer to cool down an angry, knot-less, swollen asshole, and a wide assortment of lube and toys.
I’m not always sure how much slick I’ll produce, so I prefer to pick up a bottle of lubricant just in case.
I think the lack of alpha presence affects me, because it sure wasn’t an issue when I was sucking Skylar’s cock in the locker room.
That’s how pathetic I am, because I have no sense of fear around Skylar, even when he stole my oxygen.
In fact, it was really difficult for me to come with him. There must be something wrong with me. That has to be the reason.
Ashley also suggests a post heat sachet of herbs for a post heat bath before I check out, which I gladly accept. The post heat blues are the worst for me. I’m depressed for several days, while I pretend everything is fine.
“You just bought enough for a first heat arsenal,” he says slowly as he rings me up. “I’m a little confused as to why you’re doing that.”
“Between you and me, my apartment was flooded and I lost everything,” I explain. “No, I’m not processing the loss in the slightest. I’m just moving on and rebuying shit.”
“Well alright then,” Ashley says, biting his bottom lip as he rings me up.
The only big things I’m concerned about are my photos and sketches. However, I can easily ask my parents for more copies of them and my sketches aren’t a huge deal. The reality is that I wasn’t really living in that apartment. I was a ghost.
I’ve been in Minnesota for long enough that I need to set down roots. Losing everything should hurt more than this. It’s a risk of living, and I play it safe everywhere but on the ice. I need to follow my own advice.
The issue is all the odd things that are following me. I looked up my symptoms from the night at the bar, and I think I was drugged since my memory is shit on the details. My gut tells me it wasn’t Rhodes and Skylar. After my heat, I’m going to sit them down and ask them about it.
The worst that happens is they lie to me, and I have to walk away before I’m any more enthralled with them. Scent matches don’t mean shit if you can’t trust the alphas you’re with.
“Here are your bags,” Ashley says, making me realize that I paid him while spacing out.
“Thanks,” I say, my voice cracking from the frustration I’m feeling.
“Look, whatever this is, you need to figure it out. Toys don’t work forever,” he says gently.
“They don’t really work at all if I’m being completely honest,” I say. “They keep me from losing my sanity, but won’t help much once you’ve met your scent match.”
It’s something from my health classes I just remembered. All this prep is a path of stupidity because my body will crave the men I just left. Ugh.
It doesn’t mean I’m not stubborn and not gonna try, though. People go through their heats all the time. What I heard has to be bullshit, right.
Taking my bags with a tight smile, I march out of the store and get into my car.
Ready or not, I’m going to get food, work out until my legs are Jello, and then I’ll text my coach about being unavailable due to my heat. There are clauses in my contract that keep me from being fined for not performing. God, I love my agent.
She’s a damn saint, and I’m an obstinate omega who is still driving straight into a world of hurt.