“No, I’m not. And treating your scent match like shit is a dick fucking move,” Alexi says, and I’m jolted to standing a little straighter.
“And if I don’t move in?”
“Then the team is going to find out you’re an Omega. Or you can request to leave against medical advice, and Piper will sign off. We will let the team know that you had a bout of exhaustion and dehydration but you’re good to go. Plus, you will now be living with a physician nearby to monitor you.”
Owen looks at me. “You would do that?”
I nod and don’t say anything. I’m not sure what I can say. Right now, all I can do is smell him, and every ounce of me wants to climb into that bed and cuddle him and tell him everything is fine, even if he was hurtful to me earlier.
“What’s the catch?”
Alexi groans and inhales deeply through his nose. “There is no catch, Owen. Piper is your scent match, and I think I’ve made my intentions pretty fucking clear. So what’s it going to be? Are you going to end your career now, or are you going to let us help you?”
“I can’t go into heat,” he says, looking at me with a mixture of guilt and relief.
“We will figure out all of that, but you need to agree to let us take care of you.”
“Okay,” Owen says softly.
“Okay then. Piper, can you get the paperwork started? Do you have anything to hide his scent to get out of here?
I nod, and I’m about to leave the room when Owen calls my name, and I turn slightly.
“I’m sorry, Piper,” is all he says, and I’m not sure if he’s sorry for the way he kicked me out of his room or if he’s sorry that he can’t accept that we’re destined to be together. I sigh and leave, getting his discharge papers together as well as a topical cream to help with his scent.
I’m not sure what I just got myself into, but I think it’s going to change everything.
CHAPTER21
I’m flooded with guilt by the way I treated Piper.
I panicked, there’s no other excuse. I saw everything I worked for getting washed away. The years of bringing my body to the limit. All the years I could have spent actually learning to enjoy being an Omega wasted on this dream. In this feud I only seem to have with my brother, I’ve become obsessed with the idea of being a successful professional athlete. After the game and at the hospital, I’m realizing this sibling rivalry is all one-sided. I feel like shit.
Coach is making me take two days off the ice. He took Alexi’s explanation well enough, but I’m not sure if he completely bought it. He’s asking Piper to come down to the practice facility to meet in a few days, and that's why we're in New York.
It’s why Piper is filling my paperwork out under a false name and why I’m consumed with guilt. Piper and I haven’t talked much since that night. She got me a topical cream that helps with hiding my scent, and I’m back on my suppressants. It doesn’t make it any easier though. I want her, and somehow, despite being a complete dick to her, she wants me too.
“Are you alright?” she asks. I don’t deserve her kindness.
“Just worried about what they might say.” There is an Omega Wellness Clinic in Connecticut, but I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing me there, so Piper suggested we make the drive.
“We’ll figure it out,” she says softly. Alexi is at practice. He wanted to come, but I’m grateful for this time alone with Piper. I’m hoping I can apologize and clear the air. Not that there’s much else to be done. We might be scent matches, but if I want to finish out the season, there’s nothing we can do till it’s over.
“Owen Bandnin,” the receptionist calls, and I give Piper a glare.
She shrugs her shoulders with a soft smile, and we both follow her to the back. They do the routine blood scans, weight check, blood pressure, and a urine sample before sending us back into my own room.
The room is nice, far nicer than any doctor’s office I’ve ever been in. Each room has its own scent diffuser, making it a more pleasant experience. Piper is opening up a pamphlet that was left on the counter and reading it. I sigh, feeling bad that this is how she is spending her day off.
“Piper?”
“Yeah?” she asks while not looking up at me.
“I know I said sorry at the hospital, but I need to make things more clear to you,” I say. That makes her pause, putting the pamphlet down and looking at me.
“Okay,” she says.
“I didn’t mean to come off as rejecting you. I’m sorry for how I spoke to you. There’s a lot of things I need to work through, but I’m not rejecting you. I need you to know that. I want this so fucking bad, please be patient with me?”
