Chapter 173: Your Supplier?

Though the worry lingered, heavy and suffocating in the corners of the room, we had no choice but to try and think ahead.

The ice wouldn’t wait for us to catch our breath, and the league certainly wouldn’t pause the semifinals for a Captain’s existential crisis.

​"I already laid the groundwork during Game 1," I murmured, my analytical mind slowly clicking back into gear to drown out the lingering panic. "I told Coach Devin I took a bad hit in the first period and had blurry vision. That’s why I benched myself for the third."

​Reid’s brow furrowed. "You told him your vision was blurry? Concussion protocols are a nightmare, Kain. If they put you in the dark room, they won’t clear you for Game 2."

​"I’ll walk it back," I said, shifting slightly on the cushions and wincing as my hips flared in protest. "I’ll tell the medical staff the blurry vision was just a mix of dehydration and whiplash, but that the hit completely locked up my lower back and hip flexor. It’s a classic hockey injury. It explains why I’m walking like I got hit by a truck, why I can’t do on-ice drills for the next forty-eight hours, and it gives me a solid excuse to spend practice in the physical therapy room."

​Reid stared at me, a mixture of awe and disbelief washing over his tired features. He let out a low, rough chuckle, shaking his head. "You are terrifyingly good at this, Cap."

​"I’ve had a decade of practice," I replied, though the victory tasted like ash in my mouth. "But before we worry about Coach Devin... we need to worry about something more important."

​The unspoken word hung between us: pregnancy.

​Reid’s expression sobered instantly. He nodded, standing up from the couch and pulling his phone from his pocket. "I’ll go to the pharmacy across town. I know a discrete place. I’ll get the emergency contraceptives and a fresh batch of your regular inhibitors. I’ll be back in forty minutes."

​"Reid—"

​"I can do it, Cap. I don’t want to leave it to chance," he interrupted gently but firmly, grabbing his keys from the counter. He walked back to the couch, pressing a hard, reassuring kiss to my forehead. "Keep the doors locked. Don’t move."

"Jeez, Reid, will you give me a moment to actually speak?" I asked, my fingers clutching tightly at his shirt. "I have someone who supplies my inhibitors that the drug tests don’t detect, and as for the contraceptives..."

​I pulled his fabric a little tighter, my knuckles turning white as my heart hammered against my ribs. "We have a game coming up, and I... I don’t want to risk it. I’m thinking... I don’t want to take them."

​Reid froze, his hands coming down to rest firmly on my shoulders as his grey eyes narrowed in sheer, disbelieving shock. "What are you saying, Kain? Are you trying to get pregnant right now? You know what that means."

​"Of course I’m not trying to get pregnant!" I shot back, though my voice lacked its usual bite, softened by the lingering exhaustion in my body. "I just... Taking the contraceptives right now, on top of a forced heat, could mess up my body chemistry so badly. Forget the drug test, I might not even be able to lace up my skates for Game 2. I’ll speak with my supplier first. Maybe he’ll know how to work this out without jeopardizing my physical condition."

​Reid’s jaw worked, his hands tightening on my shoulders with a protective, hesitant grip. "Your supplier? The guy who gets you those illegal high-grade blockers?"

​"Yes," I said, pulling my phone from where he had set it on the cushion beside me. "His name is Vance."

​I didn’t wait for Reid to argue. I unlocked the screen and dialed the line I had used for a decade. It rang four times before the familiar, rough, low voice answered.

​"Kain?" Vance asked, his tone instantly guarded. "You’re calling me off-schedule. And considering you haven’t been coming for your usual high-grade refills these past few weeks, I assumed you finally bit the bullet."

​I took a slow breath, conscious of Reid standing over me like a hawk, listening to every single word. "Vance. I need your advice. Privately."

​A sharp snort came through the speaker. "Let me guess—you found yourself an Alpha, didn’t you? After all these years of pumping your system with my illegal suppressants to play Beta on the ice, you actually let someone break through that iron wall of yours. Did you go and expose your secret?"

Vance already knew from the moment I got into the rain and headed to his place to get those flushers because I didn’t want to get pregnant.

Just asking for those meds was already enough to assume I had been fucked and prone to pregnancy but whether I had willingly indulged, he had no idea.

But since I never said it out loud, he just pretended like he didn’t know and just went about doing his own business.

​My throat went dry, my grip tightening on the phone. "Vance—"

​"I knew it the moment you stopped calling," Vance cut in, a dark, knowing chuckle on his end. "The last time we spoke, you were spiraling in denial about ’dependency’ and ’feelings.’ So tell me, Cap, what kind of biological disaster are you dealing with now?"

​I flicked my eyes up to Reid, whose brow was furrowed as he leaned closer to hear Vance’s voice leaking through the speaker. I cleared my throat, forcing my tone to stay strictly clinical.

​"I just rode out an intense, unexpected Alpha rut," I said bluntly, ignoring the way Reid’s chest rose heavily at the admission. "My system went into a forced heat. We... we didn’t use protection, and he knotted me multiple times. We have Game 2 of the semifinals coming up in five days and I can’t take a standard emergency contraceptive—I fear it’ll wreck my physical conditioning and hormonal balance for the game. But I can’t risk a pregnancy either. What are my options?"

​A long, heavy silence fell over the line. I could hear the faint sound of Vance tapping a pen against his desk on the other end.

​"Wow, Kain," Vance muttered, his tone dropping all sarcasm. "An Alpha rut and a forced heat? And you’re asking me how to skate a minimum 60-minute hockey game four days from now?"

​"Yes," I said firmly. "I need to know if my regular regimen or a specific blocker can flush my system out without triggering a hormonal crash."