“I agree, but he’s in too much pain to talk about it. It doesn’t add up. But it seems like the amount he took and possibly in combination with some of his other medication developed an arrhythmia.”
I don’t bother asking for more information, but Piper must realize that I need more clarification.
“His heart is beating too fast. I thought he was having a heart attack, but luckily it didn’t get that bad. They’re trying to regulate his heartbeat so that doesn’t happen, and they will also flush out his system. I know he wouldn’t have risked his career on this, Alexi.”
It feels like my brain isn’t keeping up. All I can think about is seeing Owen, and now that I’m in front of Piper, I need to take care of her too. Our hands are interlocked as she squeezes my hand.
“I felt everything through the bond. He was shocked, scared, and in so much pain.” She tears up again, and I take her in my arms. Both of us are a fucking mess over Owen being hurt and the fact that drugs he wasn’t prescribed were in his system.
“He’s going to be okay, he’s tough,” I say, repeating Nilsen’s words from earlier.
“He is. They have to put him under for the procedure, and I can’t feel him. I can’t feel him anymore,” she says, her tears soaking my shirt as I hold her close to my chest. My own emotions are coming to the forefront as I let go of my fear as well, trusting Piper to have me just as much as I have her at this moment.
We just hold each other, all the fear and unknown of Owen’s condition eating away at us. Lori and Max both join us in the hospital room. Piper holds Owen’s crying mother and consoles her even though she’s nearly losing her shit as well. Max is quiet, but I can tell he’s scared but just keeping it bottled up.
I’m not sure of all the details on why Owen and Max aren’t close, but it’s been evident in our small interactions that Max does love Owen—loving Owen is easy.
“I told him he would get fucking hurt. He never should have been hiding his designation. Fuck, Owen,” his mom says. I don’t think her foul mouth will ever be normal, but she gets it all out.
“Lori, I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t think this is Owen’s fault. I’m diligent with him and his medication. Something isn’t right.”
“What do you mean?” Max says, the first time he’s spoken since he got here.
“I don’t know. I just know Owen, how seriously he took this, how good he was with his medication. This isn’t adding up.”
“You think someone did this to him?”
Piper shrugs, but the look on her face tells me everything. She thinks someone did this to our Omega.
“I’ll fucking kill someone if they did this to my brother,” Max says. Piper and I must give him a strange look, and he rolls his eyes. “Owen is the one with a problem, not me. I love my brother, and I want the best for him always. Can you think of anyone who would do this? Or anything out of the norm?”
Piper looks at me. “His fatigue during the third period at some games, his stomach. We were wondering if his medication was having some adverse effects.”
“You knew something was wrong?” Max cuts us a glare, and Lori puts a calming hand on his forearm.
“It was just fatigue, and his stomach would hurt, but he was always adamant that he was fine. His physician even said that we were so close to the end of the season, and he would be weaning off his medications so we could just see if anything got worse.”
“When would he start to feel sick?” Max asks
“Right around the third period,” I say, which was always when he seemed to get the most tired and feel the worst. Sometimes it was different, but that was usually it.
“Someone on your fucking team did this,” Max accuses, and my first thought is to tell him to fuck himself, but when I really think about it, it’s the only thing that makes sense. If Owen wasn’t taking the drugs, someone had to have been giving them to him.
“Fuck,” I groan, and Max stands and paces around the waiting room.
“I should have never let him play. I should have told them he’s an Omega,” he says, shaking his head. “This never should have happened.”
All four of us are riddled with guilt, feeling like we had a part in why Owen is in the hospital. A kind looking nurse in baby-blue scrubs approaches us and tells us that we can come back to Owen’s room.
We’re all solemn as we follow her to Owen’s room in the Omega wing. His skin is pale, but he sleeps peacefully on the bed as we all approach, taking seats and just staring at him.
Suddenly, a male and female Alpha enter the room wearing their scrubs. The woman gives Piper a look before paying attention to the main physician.
“Mr. Connery is stable, and we are monitoring his heart rate significantly. We have regulated his heart rate and are currently using saline and other medications to flush out his system. He tested positive for opioids, and we’re assuming that they were off the street. He also broke his nose on the ice with his fall. As long as he refrains from further drug use and takes medications as prescribed, he should have a full recovery.”
There is a large sigh of relief, and Piper stands to speak to the male Alpha. He answers a few questions before leaving the room. The female Alpha stays behind and looks between Piper and Owen.
“Interesting,” the female doctor says.
