Beg Me Like You Mean It, Captain

"Wish I could say the same, Cap, but you only show up here when your walls are cracking." Vance said as he walked behind a counter stacked with unlabeled brown vials. "What do you need?"

"I need a re-up," I said, my voice coming out rough and dry. I reached into my pocket and tossed a heavy stack of cash onto the counter. "Double the high-grade suppressants. And the scent-blockers."

Vance nodded, counting the bills with a slow, yellowed thumb.

"And I need something else," I added, my knuckles whitening against the edge of the counter. "An interceptor. The strong stuff. And a cycle of regular birth control."

Vance stopped counting. The room went completely quiet except for the rain drumming against the steel door. He looked up, his brow furrowing deeper.

"An interceptor?" Vance asked, his voice dropping. "Did you go into heat? Were you claimed by an Alpha?"

I didn’t answer right away, my jaw tight as I stared straight ahead. But my silence was answer enough.

Vance’s eyes drifted down to my throat, falling squarely on the flesh-colored blister patch peeking out from the high collar of my jacket. A grim, knowing look crossed his face. He understood exactly what that patch was hiding.

"Evans... the high-dose interceptor is going to absolutely wreck your stamina for a few days," Vance said, his tone turning serious as he leaned over the counter. "It flushes everything out, but it takes a massive physical toll. You have a game against Vancouver in less than twenty-four hours, right? If you take this tonight, you won’t even be able to skate a single shift tomorrow."

I gritted my teeth, looking down at the counter. He was right. I couldn’t afford to be weak on the ice, especially not tomorrow. The team needed their Captain, and I couldn’t give Reid the satisfaction of watching me falter during a real game.

"Fine," I whispered, the words tasting like ash. "I’ll take it right after the game tomorrow night. I just want it handled before there’s even a question of a life. I don’t need that weighing on my conscience. Just give me the meds."

I needed to be clean. I needed to know that whatever Reid had done to me in that cabin, whatever submission I had handed over to him behind that closed door, wouldn’t leave a permanent mark inside me.

If he thought he could use his Pheromones to cage me, he was dead wrong. I was going to secure my own walls, because I had a feeling McCoy would get cocky the second we were back on our own ice.

Vance sighed, shaking his head as he reached into a locked metal safe beneath the counter. He pulled out the unlabeled plastic bottles and a small, silver blister pack, sliding them across the scratched wood.

"The interceptor is the silver one. Lock it away until tomorrow night. The moment the final horn blows, you take it with plenty of water and get ready for a rough twenty-four hours," Vance instructed. "The birth control starts the morning after. Don’t skip a day, or your cycle will go completely haywire."

I grabbed the bottles, shoving them deep into my jacket pockets where they felt like lead weights against my ribs.

"Thanks," I muttered, turning for the door.

"Evans," Vance called out, his voice low. "You’re playing with fire. If the league catches a whiff of what’s in your system during a routine screening—"

"They won’t," I said, pushing the steel door open into the pouring rain. "I’m the Captain. I have everything under control."

As I ran back to my car, the cold rain splashing against my face, I grimaced. The game against Vancouver was looming, and I had to keep myself together. I had to be in tiptop shape.

I couldn’t let the team see me falter, and most of all, I couldn’t let Reid see that he had shaken me so badly I had to delay my own medical safety just to survive the first puck drop.

By the time I finally unlocked the door to my apartment, the silence of the empty space felt like a sanctuary. I dropped my keys on the counter, shed my rain-soaked jacket, and let out the first genuine breath I’d taken all day.

​For the first time in three days, there was no suffocating scent of nineteen Alphas clinging to the walls. No freezing drafts. And best of all, no cafeteria food.

​I stood in my kitchen and took my time making dinner, a simple pleasure that felt like a massive victory.

I chopped vegetables, seared some chicken, and practically felt the remaining tension drain from my shoulders as the savory aroma filled the room.

Anything was better than eating the exact same meal from that lodge’s tuck shop and dining hall for three days straight. I was actually looking forward to putting food down without having to pretend I was a Beta recovering from altitude sickness.

​I dished the food on my plate, poured a tall glass of water, and sat down at my small dining table.

The apartment was quiet, the gentle patter of the rain against the glass acting as the perfect backdrop. I picked up my fork, completely relieved, ready to just disconnect my brain for the night.

​Buzzz.

​The sudden vibration of my phone against the wooden table made me freeze.

​My stomach did a familiar, unwelcome drop. I hesitated for a second, my fork hovering over my plate, before I reached over and picked up the device.

​The screen lit up with an unsaved number, but I didn’t need a contact name to know exactly who it was.

​From: Unknown

Checking up on my asset. Make sure you’re resting, Cap. I’d hate for you to look ’untidy’ on the ice tomorrow in front of the whole stadium.

​I stared at the glowing text, my grip tightening on the phone until my knuckles turned white.

The relief I had felt just seconds ago vanished, completely replaced by the bitter, familiar taste of frustration.

Even miles away, tucked safely inside my own home, the demon still found a way to reach through the walls and remind me exactly who held the leash.

Bastard. I hissed and dropped the phone.

I wouldn’t think of Reid tonight. I wouldn’t think of the game either. I would simply relax in the comfort of my home, lie in the comfort of my bed, and soak in what it means to be a free man.

And then when tomorrow comes, when I have to deal with the pre-press before the game, I’ll have my A-game face on and show everybody why Kain Evans isn’t to be messed with on the ice. Especially Reid.