“That’s my line.” He sighs and wraps his arms around me. Without his suppressants, his scent is thick and comforting.
“This is something I need to do.”
“Okay, I trust you,” I say wholeheartedly. There are three people I trust with my life and that’s Alexi, Owen, and Charlotte. We head to the room where the Foxes hold their post game interviews. The whole team is here in suits waiting patiently. Owen meets Alexi, who takes his hand, and they head to the stage to sit together.
I feel on edge because we still haven’t had closure on who put Owen in this position in the first place. We have suspicions of course but no concrete evidence.
Reporters start hurling questions at Owen, and Alexi looks incredibly pissed like he might toss the table when Owen clears his throat.
“I think I’d like to speak first, and then we can keep any questions for last.” There’s murmuring throughout the crowd, but they all seem to lower their voices and let Owen speak.
“The reports of me being an Omega are true. I hid my designation from the NHL with a combination of suppressants, deodorizers, and other legal methods. No one on the team knew I was an Omega when I was recruited from the Icemen.”
He adjusts in his seat, and I know that Alexi has a calming hand on his thigh to help him get through this. God, I love that man.
“I was driven to hide my designation because the NHL does not permit Omegas to play. I have to ask why that is? Is it because you think Omegas only have the purpose of being in a pack? Is it because I’m not physically strong enough? Or is it because I would be a distraction to other Alphas? It sure isn’t because I have any advantages over the Alphas and Betas in the league.
“I have had to work ten times harder to gain the muscle I have now. Most of the Alphas on my team are exhausted after games, but sometimes I could barely even walk. I put my body through Hell to get to where I am today because I love this sport, and I knew that I would be great if given the chance. Omegas are not a designation that can be pigeonholed, and frankly, I’m sick of the biases in our society when it comes to designations and professions.
“I definitely wasn’t a distraction on the ice as no one else even knew about my designation. So I have to ask if the NHL is mad because they’re being called out for their prejudice finally. Or is it something else?”
He looks so fucking confident up there as he speaks. Pride swells in me over his confidence. He takes a brief pause before beginning again.
“My being on the team, if anything, was a disadvantage. For the NHL to even discuss the possibility of stripping us of our title is a demonstration of cowardice and an effort to cover up the real problem in professional sports. In our society, Omegas are perceived as delicate and desirable, and I’m telling you that we are far more than that. I believe I proved that a week ago when I was a part of us winning our first Stanley Cup. I will not stand by and let my team or my designation get dragged in the mud. I will remove my name from the Cup before I let any of the men behind me have their hard work stripped away, but I hope the league can understand where I’m coming from and understand the hurdles I overcame to play the sport I love so much.
“Hockey has been my life for so long, and I’m incredibly grateful to the Foxes and the NHL for letting me live out my dream. I hope that I’ve been able to open some minds and shed some light on my circumstances to help you understand that changes as a whole need to be made. Thank you.”
Alexi smiles at him and rubs his shoulder. The questions are all over the place, and Coach Applegate takes control by pointing at reporters to have them ask their questions one at a time.
“Have you been medically cleared? What happened after you won the game?”
Owen sighs and looks around at his teammates. “I have been medically cleared. I had a heart arrhythmia that caused me to faint.” He leaves out the part that it was possibly caused by one of his teammates.
“Are you attempting to return for another season?”
“No, this is the end of my professional career,” Owen replies.
“If it weren’t for you being outed for your designation, would you still play?”
“No, as much as I advocate for Omegas to follow their passions, especially in athletics, this has been extremely difficult on my body, and I can no longer play at this level.”
“Wouldn’t you say that's a reason for Omegas not to be in the professional sector? You're advocating for the right, sure, but you just said yourself that your body can’t handle it,” the sleazy reporter with a cheap suit and a balding head asks.
“I played for the Icemen for nearly four years, and sure I didn’t have as many issues with them as I did in the NHL, but I’m also twenty-four. Did you know the ECHL also prevents Omegas from joining, as well as most minor league sports? While still strenuous, playing for the Icemen was not as exerting as for the Foxes. Not to mention that ice hockey is one of the most physical and demanding schedules of all sports. So no, I don’t see the parallel you’re trying to make here.”
I’m so impressed with Owen, the way he deflects or redirects each question. I swear if I didn’t know him and was looking at him now, I would assume he was a politician or in public speaking.
“What are you going to do with your retirement?” the female reporter from MSN asks.
“I’m going to enjoy time with my pack and go from there.”
The reporters go wild, wanting more information. But he waves them off, and Coach Applegate takes the stage and lets them know that questions are over. There is grumbling in the crowd, but they accept that the interview is over.
Alexi and Owen are whispering on stage, and I can only imagine what he’s telling him. I’m smiling when a shoulder bumps into me.
“Sorry,” he says.
It’s Johannson, the back up goalie. The one Alexi and I suspect. We hadn’t said anything to Owen yet because he’s still having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that one of his teammates drugged him. The outcome could have been so much worse. Even thinking about what could have happened makes me feel physically sick.
