He Hid His Omega Heat, His Rival Exposed Him on Court novel · Chapter 3 of 24

Chapter 3: Same Tent

The team begs for lucky stickers at the campfire, and in the tent at night Raven's heat arrives without his medication; Noah finds him, hears the truth, and offers a pill.

By the second night around the campfire, three people had asked Raven for a lucky sticker.

"One for my chemistry final," said the point guard.

"One for my knee," said the center, who had a perfectly good knee.

"One for my girlfriend's birthday," said a freshman, and Raven peeled a bandage off the first-aid kit, cut it in half and stuck it on the freshman's shoulder.

"Don't wash it for a week."

The freshman bowed.

Across the fire Thompson stood up with the rulebook in one hand and the marshmallow bag in the other.

"Section 4.1 of the Alpha Athletics Code bans open flame near a roasting stick," he said.

"Is that Section 4.1?" said Coach.

"It's very close to it."

"Sit down and roast," said Coach, and Thompson sat and did not roast.

Noah was across from Raven on a log, in a wool hat and the cream sweater, with his feet in two pairs of socks.

He kept looking up from a mug of tea and then away again.

Raven kept looking back.

He was warm, which was wrong, because the night was cold.

He put it down to the fire.

By ten the phones went into a bag and the tents went dark.

Their tent was small, with two sleeping bags a hand apart and a camp lantern turned to its lowest light.

Noah zipped his bag, said "Goodnight, Raven," and was asleep before Raven finished saying it back.

Raven lay on his back and looked at the roof.

The heat was not from the fire.

It started low in his stomach and rolled upward in slow waves, and every wave left his skin tighter.

His shirt stuck to his back.

His sleeping bag was suddenly unbearable, and he kicked it off and lay on top of it in his shorts.

I'm fine, he told himself.

It did not help.

Then something shifted lower down, a slow warm wet he had not felt since the winter of his first year, and he went rigid.

His hand went down on instinct and came away slick.

He stared at the roof, appalled.

He had not been without the pills for more than a day since he was eighteen.

His father had said take one every morning, no exceptions, and Raven had said, "Sure, Dad, who skips a vitamin."

Every sound seemed enormous: the tent fabric, his own breath, the zip of a sleeping bag next to him.

"Raven."

Noah was awake, up on one elbow, his hair stuck flat on one side.

"I'm sorry. I'm okay. Go back to sleep."

Noah did not go back to sleep.

His head tilted, and he drew one slow breath through his nose.

Something went across his face and was gone, and his eyes moved over Raven's bare chest, the sheen of sweat, the damp dark patch at the front of his shorts.

He sat up very slowly.

"How long has it been since you took your medication?"

Raven's mouth opened and nothing came out.

"I'm not going to tell anyone," Noah said. "I'm not going to write anything down. I want to be sure you're safe."

Raven turned his face toward the roof.

His eyes stung, and he hated that more than anything.

"It was the first winter," he said. "I was eighteen. I woke up in the middle of the night and everything was wrong."

Noah waited.

"I thought I was sick. My parents took me to a doctor. He said it was a late secondary change." Raven swallowed. "I'm an omega. I've been one for three years."

"And you've been on suppressants."

"Every morning. And the sticker, to cover the smell."

"Your parents know."

"Only them."

"And the team doesn't."

"The team's alphas only," Raven said. "I've played since I was fourteen. It's the only thing I have that's all mine. I can't just stop."

His voice cracked on the last word, and he laughed it off badly.

Noah was quiet for a moment.

"Raven, I'm going to say something as a medical assistant, and I'd like you to hear it that way."

"Okay."

"Suppressants shouldn't be taken for years without a break. A cycle that's held back too long builds up. Once or twice is fine. Always isn't good for your body, and it isn't good for you."

"Nobody told me that."

"I know."

Raven wiped his face with the heel of his hand.

"I don't know what's happening to me," he said. "I don't know how this is supposed to work."

"I do," said Noah.

He said it simply, and he reached into the bag by his pillow.

"Do you believe me?" he asked.

Raven looked at him.

It was a strange question to be asked by a boy he'd known for two weeks, in the dark, sweating through his shorts.

It was easy to answer.

"Yes."

Noah opened his hand.

On his palm lay a small white pill.

← Chapter 2 · All chapters · Chapter 4 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend