Page 58 of The Price of Ice

She’d already made it clear whose side she was on when Vandy had lost it. And apparently it didn’t matter how badly an alpha in the team behaved, or whether it was outside heat, she’d find a way to twist it into something acceptable.

She was their public imagine representative, after all, he thought with some bitterness. Her widening eyes were on point. “Of course I want to help you! But to solve a conflict, we must be able to look at all sides, Kallen. I understand you are hurting right now...”

The words kept coming, but she wasn’t saying anything new. He’d somehow caused what had happened to him, just like he’d caused his legs to stop working and all he had to do to be happy was tostop causing trouble. The implication was that if he did, his alphas would treat him well, since that’s all any alpha wanted for his omega after all.

But Kallen wasn’t their omega, was he? Most of them had partners to whom they owed their loyalty. Kallen wasn’t the soul of the team, he was just a guy they all fucked together.

Brad didn’t think to knock when he came back in, and Kallen discovered that Cat had actually left only when the nurse said his name.

Kallen blinked up at him and Brad’s face fell. “Well, at least you aren’t on any meds.”

“Huh?”

“So you can get blind drunk if you want?”

“IS THIS YOUR JOB?”Kallen slurred. Brad had made them some chicken sandwiches, then started pouring. To Kallen’s surprise, he’d downed a shot himself, but he’d stopped early and now Kallen was the only one who couldn’t see straight.

Brad snorted. “Getting you sloshed?”

After that, things got fuzzier, they’d got fried chicken and chips, and Brad had made a hilarious face at it that started Kallen laughing his head off. He’d been eating healthily for so long he didn’t evenlikethe shitty greasy food, but it was the principle of the thing. Hecouldeat it because his body wasn’t his temple, or if it was, it was desecrated well beyond any damage a serving of trans fats could do. It wasn’t as bad as wanting to roll the chair into the glass side of the living room and see if he could break it, or thinking about whether he could grab a knife from the kitchen drawer and get anywhere private enough.

But it helped, to hurt himself with food that made him burp and feel too full. It was just so stupid, how his body wanted him to live when he had lost every reason to.

And Kallen didn’t have the energy to be furious, but he was still alive enough to be bitter.

Brad had become insistent at some point on him drinking water, and Kallen had become equally insistent on not doing it. But somehow, he’d made it to bed.

He knew because he was there.

“Not happening,” Brad told him, when Kallen refused to sit up the next morning. He was achy and sweaty and pretty gross, but so what? Now that he was in the guest room, he could be sweaty and smelly all he liked. He didn’t give a fuck anyway.

Brad didn’t say anything else, and Kallen didn’t react on time when the other omega reached for him andtickledhim. He tried to push him away, but he was pinned in place while Brad could evade, so he ended up gasping for air by the time he managed to grab the other man by the wrists. He glared, squinting as his head informed him he had not, in fact, drank enough water. “What the fuck?”

Brad shrugged, mouth twisting sideways to illustrate his indifference. “Needs must.”

“You—” He swallowed the insult. “You’re the one who told me to drink last night.”

“Yes,” Brad agreed. “But that was last night. You wallowed to your heart’s content, and you have slept till almost noon.” Kallen’s eyes flew to the numberless clock on the wall, which proved Brad wasn’t messing with him. “And now you gotta get up and have a shower.”

“Why?”

“Because you stink?” Brad suggested cheerfully, his nose wrinkling a bit.

Kallen started rolling his eyes and then stopped when it tugged at something inside his head that did not want to be disturbed. “So leave.”

“Yeah, no.” He tugged harder his time, but for all his strength, Kallen still had most of his muscle and if he didn’t help move his upper half, there was no way the other man would be able to get him anywhere.

Brad huffed, obviously realising it too. “What gives, man? You know you’ll feel better for it.”

“What if I don’twant tofeel better?” Kallen spat, and fuck, clenching his teeth hurt too. But he was just so fuckingfurious,and he couldn’t even go punch a bag. The gym downstairs had one, but it would be at the wrong height, and he’d probably overturn the chair if he tried it.

The nurse let go and straightened, maybe sensing how close to violence Kallen was right then.

But instead of backing down like a sensible person, Brad pushed. “What? So, you are just giving up? Like, if you can’t have hockey, you’d rather curl up and die?”

Kallen stared at him. No one else in his life would have dared to ask him that; not his teammates, or even his family. They all knew.

“What if you got your legs back?” Brad added. “Like, imagine you get them back, but you have to quit playing, would you do it?”

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