Chapter 8
T here were soft hands on his face and hair, slowly carding through it, softer words coming through that it took him a few moments to parse. “...eat something.”
He blinked up at Levy, who was holding a glass of water with the hand he wasn’t using to rouse him. His friend smiled when their eyes met.
“There you are. Can you sit up?” he asked, putting down the glass and reaching for Kallen’s elbow to help him recline against the headboard.
“Drink a bit first,” Levy told him, and actually brought the glass to his lips.
Kallen couldn’t seem to look away from him, the tenderness of his expression like a beacon. He drank when the glass was tipped for it, then again after a moment. He couldn’t have said how many times it was before his body woke up enough to blare at his brain that he was parched . But Levy caught the hand he raised to take over in his own, gentle but firm.
“Take it easy,” he advised, shaking his head.
Since arguing was quite beyond him at the moment, Kallen allowed the heavy blanket of Levy’s attention to cover him again—every sip was as careful as the one before, like he had nothing to do but stand here in front of Kallen, making sure... It was the emotion welling up in him that made him turn his head away before the glass was empty, throat working hard, not to swallow but to hold back tears.
“Hey,” Levy was already getting rid of the glass and jumping into the bed, kneeling by his side and placing his hands on the sides of Kallen’s face. “You’re okay,” he promised. “I’m here. It’s all over, I swear.”
Kallen kept his gaze low, feeling like any more contact would shatter him. It was probably only weeks of taking comfort in casual touch that allowed him to let his forehead drop forward into Levy’s chest.
His friend’s arms immediately came around his shoulders, pulling him closer and he made a low sound, not shushing exactly but close, yet another promise that he was safe. Kallen didn’t need telling , not when he was being shown it so clearly, but all he could manage right then was to cling to Levy’s soft hoodie and cry very quietly into his shirt.
It was perfectly normal to be emotional after going through heat, the intensity of it dragging out things you’d been putting off when your body wasn’t overtaken by need. Like a wave that swept everything that had been hiding under the sand, leaving it all exposed to the merciless light of the sun. Kallen was used to being tender in more than body afterwards, but he normally slept it off on his own, and if he cried, it wasn’t anything he could control or remembered much afterwards. Having someone there should have made it easier somehow, but in a way all it did was give him permission to fall apart.
Levy just held on, rubbing his back and making sympathetic noises. It was probably he who rolled them over until Levy was on his back and Kallen was curled up on his chest, trembling with the emotions rushing through him like a tsunami, desperate for a port in the storm that raged inside.
Eventually it came to an end, and he was just lying there in Levy’s arms, drained and blank. He could have fallen asleep any minute, but Levy seemed to sense that too because he made him sit up and finish the water, trusting him with the glass since his right arm was still around Kallen’s waist.
It was only with the sheets pulling down around his waist that he became aware he was naked. He tensed up, glancing down, nostrils flaring. But he didn’t smell... He looked about the room, realising they were on the second bed.
“You want more?” Levy asked, thumb absently rubbing at the bare skin of Kallen’s hip. Kallen’s eyes went to it, face growing hot. What was Levy doing?
“I—” He stopped, his voice was wrecked. “I’m cold,” he managed to push out. It wasn’t exactly true, not with Levy plastered to his side. But he was aware enough to realise he was naked next to an alpha he found attractive, who probably—
“Okay, one sec.” Levy squeezed him against his body before letting go and rolling off the bed. Kallen’s gaze followed him, noticing he was in different clothes. He had on the purple hoodie he’d leant Kallen and soft-looking jogging bottoms instead of jeans.
There was a set of his own clothes laid out on one of the chairs, including boxers, and Levy brought them over. He must have seen the confusion on Kallen’s face. “You didn’t... I think you needed the skin-on-skin contact,” he explained, glancing to the side with a little shrug. “You... I slept with you... Like, not— Obviously not like that, but you just didn’t want to be alone, so....”
Kallen’s stomach fell right off the rooftop. So, Levy had got in bed with him naked, after Kallen had fucked the two other alphas but not him.
Fuck, he was an arsehole. He kept his gaze on the coverlet, tongue pressed flat against the top of his palate to keep from saying something stupid on top of everything else.
“Kallen?”
Kallen shook his head and reached blindly for the clothes. The first thing he touched was the shirt and he was shoving it over his head, quick and careless like it would make the difference between life and death. He regretted it as soon as he was done and the dizzy spell hit him. He leaned back on the headboard, eyes scrunched shut.
Levy was tutting at him. “You haven’t eaten in, like, ages,” he warned, not quite managing to sound angry. “Just... Forget about everything else, let me get you some soup.”
The soup was cold, since it must have been there since the previous night when Levy had ordered them all a feast. It hadn’t been that long since he’d eaten, really. He didn’t know why his body was struggling so much. He’d heard of omegas needing aftercare for heat before, but Kallen had managed post-heat on his own just fine for months, and now...
Now Levy was putting the cup to his lips and telling him to sip because bone broth was full of nutrients.
Was that it? He wondered, obediently drinking, eyes kept low now that he was awake enough to have some shame. Did his body somehow know that he didn’t need to push him to survive because someone else was here?
Fuck hormones and instincts and their fucking lack of boundaries.
Levy was being a good friend, that was all, but Kallen had just gone through heat and this was... This was too much like what an alpha did for his omega. It felt good, too good , and Levy hadn’t signed up for that.
Kallen couldn’t afford to get confused.
IT WASN’T UNTIL THE next time he woke up that it occurred to him to ask about the time.
Levy didn’t reply for long enough to be suspicious. “ Levy ,” Kallen growled. “Are you supposed to be at the game?” He glanced towards the window, but he couldn’t tell anything other than that the sun was up. The game was at three.
“Practice,” his friend objected. “I told Coach Weller I was here, it’s fine. I’ll go join them for the game, if you are okay,” he added with a mulish expression so unlike his habitual ease that Kallen could only stare.
“Why...?” He swallowed. It was a stupid question. He knew why, because Levy was his friend and Kallen had asked him to look after him during this heat. That had been enough to get him to defy their captain. Why would it not be enough to make him miss practice? He looked away. “I’m okay, you should go.”
“You sure?” Levy tried, and Kallen avoided his gaze, only gave him a firm nod.
“The team needs you,” he offered, way too serious and awkward, but he couldn’t do any better, not right then, half naked and feeling like Levy had probably seen a lot more than his arse.
His friend had pointed to his charged mobile phone on the bedside table and insisted on bringing a bottle of water for him first, but he’d gone.
HE WAS WARMLY COCOONED in strong arms, an equally strong leg tangled with his own and the scent of safety all around him. There was laughter in his ear, a low satisfied rumble, and when he twisted to expose his neck, he got nuzzled right where he was most sensitive. He hadn’t known it was possible to feel this good.
So of course he turned, seeking more of it...
And he woke up on the edge of the double bed.
The shock of nearly falling had nothing on the disappointment of finding himself alone.
Of course he was alone, he’d sent Levy to do his fucking job. Only... Was that real? Had they really been like that last night? Heat hormones were like a drug and post-heat wasn’t much better, a shot of oxytocin straight to the brain that facilitated things such as bonding.
Levy had said they’d slept together, that Kallen had wanted skin-on-skin contact. Did that mean Levy had been...? He buried his face on the sheets, muffling a frustrated growl, and got a noseful of their mixed scents for his trouble.
His cock twitched where it was still bare, and Kallen rolled onto his back with vicious satisfaction. No fucking way , he’d had sex for hours the day before and no way was he going to jerk it to his best friend in the team cuddling him. Especially not when his team could be playing right that moment.
Levy could be playing. That helped clear his head some, and he glanced around until he spotted the remote across the room on the other bedside table.
He hated the idea of getting out from under the covers, but he went slowly and his legs proved willing to hold him up when he got on them.
He stumbled to grab the remote and dragged the phone to his own bedside to put a call through to room service. Then he made the effort of putting on underwear and the baggy bottoms Levy had selected from his own luggage. Selected perfectly too, since Kallen had brought them for afterheat.
He needed more than soup if he was going to get on a plane with his team in a few hours.
Finding the channel felt like an odyssey, even though hockey games in the Premier League mostly played on one specific channel, the hotel seemed to have assigned a different number to it somehow and he had to surf through what seemed to be every sport ever invented before he got the right one.
He sighed in relief when he saw they hadn’t scored and were only ten minutes into the game itself. And then there was a crash in the corner of the ice closest to the Otters’ goal and his throat seized with terror. It couldn’t be... But the announcer was already talking about number 19 being down. Levy . One of the Otters’ defenders had crashed into him, even though he hadn’t had the puck. The guy was actually hovering around as several of the Cats skated over ahead of their harried medic.
Kallen threw the blankets off, ignoring the remote bouncing on the floor, and stumbled to his feet, catching himself on the edge of the bed to avoid falling over himself. He stole another glance at the screen, but the camera angle wasn’t showing anything useful, and the announcer’s words weren’t quite penetrating. His sneakers were by the door but his socks were nowhere to be seen, so he put them on without, shoved the keycard in his pocket and paused long enough to think to grab his wallet and his mobile.
He ran into the room service guy on his way out and managed to explain he didn’t want the food because there was an emergency. The guy even walked him down to reception and made them call him a taxi to take him to the Otters’ stadium, and in the meantime, he went on his phone to try to find an update from the game. The Cats had scored, that was all he could find, like it mattered when Levy was hurt. When they’d probably scored on the power play after the man who’d hurt him had been temporarily sent to the penalty box.
He was disorientated enough that he couldn’t manage to tell the cabbie to go around to the players’ entrance, so he ended up walking the distance, heart pounding and teeth clenched. At least once he got there, the security guard let him in with just his driver’s license—God knew where his official identification was.
Somehow, he made it to the bench area, and Coach Weller was there to catch him before he stumbled right over an abandoned stick. “Guin, what are you doing here?” he demanded.
“Levy,” Kallen said. “Is he...?” His throat seized.
The coach blinked at him. “He’s with the medics, nothing broken, but...” He glanced about and waved at someone, who turned out to be Catwoman. “Take him to see Pollack and get him to calm down.”
“No problem, Coach.” Cat took him by the arm and started leading him away, stronger than she looked since she was practically dragging him down the corridor. At least Levy was still in the building, so it couldn’t be that bad, right? Otherwise, they’d have sent him to hospital; the team wouldn’t risk his injuries becoming aggravated.
When they finally got to the medic’s office, Cat had to insist to be allowed inside and the field medic, Andrews, looked pissed at being interrupted. “What is it?” He frowned. “Guin? Aren’t you out on heat leave?”
“I’m fine,” Kallen said, stepping in like he was being dragged inside by an invisible force. Levy was lying on the bed, one arm propped on a pillow, and wearing an eye mask. “Is he okay?”
Levy made a complaining noise on the bed and Kallen placed a careful hand on his shoulder, whispering an apology, “Sorry.” Levy turned his face towards him, his soft curls brushing Kallen’s knuckles. He looked up at Andrews, “Concussion?”
“Possibly,” the medic agreed with a huff. “But definitely a headache, which is why I’m letting him rest his eyes, but not sleep.”
“And his arm?”
“Just a sprain, I was about to tape it up for him when someone decided they knew better than me and barged in here when I said I was busy.”
“Sorry about that, boss,” Catwoman told him, cheerily unrepentant. “I’m sure Kallen can help you keep Levy awake, though.”
And with that, she turned and left them to it.
“I can,” Kallen said at once, wincing when it came out too loud and Levy stiffened. Fuck, he was terrible at this. Maybe he should leave...
Andrews gave him a dubious look. “If he stops reacting, it’s bad, go to hospital bad, okay?” He stood up. “I need to piss and grab something to eat. That’s the phone, Doctor Maslow is speed dial 1, I’m speed dial 2. Start with 2, he’s on holiday somewhere with the husband.”
“Kallen?” Levy’s voice was strained, and it took everything in Kallen to keep rubbing at his shoulder.
“Yeah?”
“You okay?”
Kallen sighed. “Me? Yeah, dude, you are the one laid out flat.”
Levy made a dissatisfied noise.
“Shush,” Kallen told him. “Just rest for a bit. The painkillers should kick in soon, and Andrews will be back any minute to check your eyes again.”
The groan he got for that let him know it hadn’t been the reassuring statement he’d hoped, but when he got his hand on Levy’s good side and ran his fingers through his hair, his friend sighed softly and pushed a little into his touch.
He was still doing it when the medic returned. Andrews was looking harried, deep bags under his eyes and his black hair limp around his face. Maybe it was for the best that Kallen was around to help.
He had to help him hold Levy’s arm at the right angle for taping. It sucked, and the concussion test that made Levy’s hazel eyes fill with tears was even worse. At least he was still showing no signs of anything but a killer headache, and Andrews said Levy could take a short nap if they hooked him to a heart monitor.
“Seriously?” Levy asked, even though speaking was clearly painful. It seemed extreme, but Kallen was all for the overkill, and what harm was there in having an electrode stuck to his chest anyway?
Andrews also let him stay in the room and monitor Levy, even if he also forced him to down a horrible electrolyte drink to help with post-heat dehydration.
Kallen wasn’t dehydrated, now that he knew Levy wasn’t seriously injured, he was mostly just calm and focused. He had a job to do and he could do it, that’s all that mattered to him. His arse was a little sore, which was normal after getting fucked as hard as heat demanded, but Kallen was a hockey player; he was often sore somewhere.
The team was getting on the bus to the next location after dinner. But when Andrews suggested Kallen was still too worn out from heat to go with them, he readily agreed. He was pretty sure the medic was laughing at him for being so clingy with Levy, but he didn’t even care. Maybe he could have pushed himself to play, but his mind would have been right here anyway, and Levy didn’t have anyone else to be with him.
He had family all over the country, cousins and aunties and people he called aunties but probably wasn’t actually related to. But the only people he could imagine his friend wanting right now were his parents and they were both too far away to make it in any kind of reasonable time.
So, this was on Kallen for now.