Chapter Text
December 2009
Shane took his meds religiously. He never forgot them, had his timer to remind him of the exact time to take them and he never once went off his schedule. Being seen as one of the most talked about prospects left a heavy feeling of duty on his shoulders, which he tried to get a hold on as best as he could.
Nobody knew and he didn’t plan on telling anyone, considering the mistreatment of omegas in the NHL, but this also ment he always had to be extra careful. He could tell nobody, because they might use it to their advantage or to get him being thrown out. He knows, everybody knows, there are talented omegas woven between the many alphas playing in the NHL, but everybody also knows how dangerous it is for omegas, and how fast an accident can happen.
There have been incidents where an omega was revealed, when their medication failed or a strong enough alpha was near, that tipped off a heat.
Shane is actually terrified of that happening to him. He knows he’s a great player that can get far, if he doesn’t let his biology dictate his way of living. But being constantly faced with the threat of getting a heat at an unfavourable moment is letting him feel unsettled. His mom and he have a plan of what to do, when it happens, but still. Shane is always careful.
When he presented, already deep in his hockey training, his mom got him to a doctor and placed on suppressants before he had a chance to experience a second heat. Although, chance might be the wrong word. Shane did not enjoy his first heat at all. He had been in pain, crying and sobbing the whole four days it lasted and when it was done he got violently sick to the point of being unable to return to ice for three weeks.
When his mom dragged him to the doctor, explained the situation and asked for suppressants, their family doctor had quietly arranged everything and placed him on his first dose immediately. He never got another heat with his pills, which is why he’s still using the first ones he tried. Of course he knows that some omegas need to try out different ones, until they choose to stick one that doesn’t harm them in any way. He guesses he just got lucky, and that his doctor made sure to prescribe him pills that he knew would fit Shane.
Now he’s at the international prospect cup and he’s feeling fucking great!
He’s incredibly happy to be here and wishes to be picked out as one of the many attendees. He knows he’s a pretty good player, people keep telling him so, with his mom right at the front. But he’s still nervous about the game. Of course.
After his mom get’s them checked into the hotel, Shane asks her if he can go check out the rink that he will be playing at later. She nods and lets him go with a reminder; “just don’t stay for too long. I don’t want you sleep deprived because you were decided to step onto the ice and skate for hours until evening, okay? Come back in like an hour or so.”
Shane agrees and makes his way out of the hotel, after he helped his mom dragging their overnight bags to their hotel rooms.
For a short amount of time, he stands in front of the hotel, watching the city, before calling a taxi and driving to the rink, where he’ll be competing tomorrow. He pays the driver and walks into the big building that’s hosting the prospect cup. He walks to the rink and looks over the ice to imagine tomorrow’s game. He’s sure he’ll score many goals, which hopefully get’s him drafted.
When he’s stepping closer to the rink, he notices the cold and wraps himself tighter into his jacket. It’s supposed to be cold, of course, but it ignites a weird feeling inside Shane that he can’t quite drop. The hair on his neck stands up and it feels as though the air is crackling with possibilities. He draws a deep breath and stays right there, in front of the rink, before turning and marching back towards the door.
Something about this setting reminds him of his rival Ilya Rozanov and he thinks back to when he first met him. He met him outside the rink not too long ago, when he encountered him smoking. He looked calm and collected, almost more than Shane himself, but he knew that the appearance can differ a lot from what one is feeling inside.
“Ilya Rozanov?”, he had asked before stepping closer to the tall blonde man. “Shane Hollander, I- i wanted to introduce myself.” He remembers the meeting still vividly. He had extended his arm towards the other player and they greeted each other. When their hands touched a sharp tingle had run through Shanes body, and collected itself at his lower back. He suspected he had pulled a muscle earlier.
When his hand dropped back to his side he shoved it into his jacket and watched Ilya lighting his cigarette. “Oh, I’m not sure you’re supposed to smoke here”, he intervened back than, and because he wasn’t too sure, if the Russian understood him, he also made sure to show with his hands what he meant.
He felt as though he approached Ilya with politeness, but maybe this was his omega thinking, because when his opponent looked him up and down, before saying; “OK”, he got this nasty feeling that he must’ve done something wrong. He’s dealt with this ugly feeling for long enough to know, this is his omega, trying to get him to submit to an alpha and trying to please him. So, instead of giving into this urge, he shook his head a little and looked back up, locking eyes with Ilya.
He wanted to compliment the alpha, though, because he has seen him play and he knows how good he is. So he said; “you’re an awesome player to watch”, and he means it. “Yes”, Ilya answered and Shane got the fleeting feeling of being looked down at, but he knew that the alpha in front of him couldn’t possibly know that their biology is so severely different, so the talking-down-at is just part of Rozanovs personality.
A nervous chuckle broke free and Shane was turning aside embarrassed. His omega was trying to keep the conversation going, that’s why he found himself leaning against the wall, although he could’ve just returned to his mother, because there was nothing for him here. It took a short moment, but soon he shook himself out of the headspace his omega tried to push him in. “Anyways, i should go”, he had told Ilya and turned to the exit. Before he left he turned back to the alpha, wishing him good luck for the tournament.
He was almost at the door, when he heard the alphas answer, “you will not be so nice when we beat you.” He turned back to him and saw the arrogant look, only an alpha could wear. His anger began to stir, he knew how alphas tick, he knew they all think they’re the best in everything. In the end he settled on; “That’s not happening”, and he had sounded almost convincing.
He left the building in a rush, and when he touched the back of his neck he noticed that his hand was slightly wet from the sweat he’s sporting. Confused he shook his head and headed towards one of the taxis to drive him back to the hotel. When he got to his room, that had been just a few doors down the hall from his mom’s room, he unpacked his bag and flipped open his box of pills to take his suppressants. He downed them with a big gulp of water and then decided to go over to his mom to speak about the game tomorrow.
In the end it came exactly how Ilya predicted it. Shane and his team lost, but his dream of being drafted was not over. That’s how he found himself at the Major League Hockey Draft in New York six months after his first encounter with Ilya Rozanov. He’s still taking the same pills, because they seem to work for him. Not long ago, there was another leak of an omega that had been a hockey player, but one in a much lower league than Shane, that had gotten into heat right after a game, which resulted in him being thrown off his team.
He is a lucky guy. Ilya Rozanov got picked first by the Boston Raiders, but Shane is picked second by the Montreal Metros! He can’t even believe it, but his mom insures over and over again, that he deserves this place and that he should use the opportunity. Shane is still taking the same suppressants and he never misses a dose. Whenever he has to fly out, he and his mom make sure to bring at least two bottles, in case one gets lost.
After an evening socialising with the managers and his mom, Shane gets to his room and strips to lay down. He really tries to sleep, but it just won’t come. He suspects he’s too nervous considering his responsibility towards his new team. So, after laying awake some time, he decides to just go find the gym and doing some exercises to calm his nerves. Just a while after he began, Rozanov joins him and together they finish their workout, although not without getting competitive.
When they get off the bicycles, Shane drops in front of another machine, while Rozanov sits down opposite from him. He drinks from his water bottle and Shane catches himself staring at his rival gulping down water. He’s feeling embarrassed, especially because Ilya notices his staring. The shame runs hot down his back and collects in his tummy, which provokes a cramp.
After a moment, Rozanov offers his water bottle towards Shane, and he grabs it to drink from it too. The second he closes his lips around it, a hot flash rolls through him and he notices how hot he feels. He doesn’t want to risk anything so he takes down the bottle and offers it back to Rozanov, who, instead of taking it, instructs him to drink more. When the alpha does take it back, his large hand covers Shanes for a moment and the omega feels another flash of hotness run down his spine.
Is he trying to test me? he asks himself and fears what would happen when the alpha knew he was sitting right in front of an omega. What would Ilya Rozanov do, if he were aware the guy in front of him is an omega?
At some point both men get up and leave for their hotel rooms again and Shane begins to be suspicious about the hot flashes he gets every time Rozanov in involved with him. He eventually asks his mom, if he could up his dose of suppressants, and after an appointment at their doctor, Shane is allowed to take more than before, to suppress the symptoms he’s been experiencing.
6 months later:
Shanes team wins the game against Russia! It makes him feel incredible about himself, winning despite his biology related health issues of the past few months. The feeling of an incoming heat has been getting stronger. Shane fears the break out at any time, especially during or after a game, when the pheromones of his colleges are high and strong. Whenever he smells an alpha, he shivers and tries to suck in the smell, before realising it would make him look weird, and shutting it down desperately.
When the russian players made their rounds after the game, congratulating them for their win, Ilya grabs Shanes hand in a tight grip, before grinning and winking at him. They skate away from each other and when the teams part ways, Shane get’s into the locker room and sits down on one end of the bench to calm his heavy breathing. He takes in the manly smell of many alphas in one spot, trying to get his laboured breathing under control.
The smell makes him feel a little more dizzy and he has to take a few minutes to collect himself, before he can begin to strip down his hockey clothes. He tries to be quick about it, but he wants to go home. He’s definitely not feeling too great, he’s hot and his stomach hurts again, and when a teammate asks him, if he’ll join them to the bar, he politely declines.
Getting back into his hotel room is far more difficult than he anticipated, because he’s beginning to feel worse by the minute. When he’s back in the hotel he takes the lift to take him up to the right floor, but when he gets in Ilya Rozanov stands over in a corner. He watches Shane’s every move with dark eyes. When Shane turns his back to him, pushing the button for his floor, he hears Rozanov taking a deep breath, trying to smell Shanes scent.
It’s taking far too long for the lift to get to the right floor and to open the doors, so when it finally does and Shanes gets off, Rozanov follows him out. “Are you on this floor too?”, Shane asks, while stepping towards his room. He gets his keycard and opens the door, to turn around and see Ilya standing quite close. The alpha is watching him with hooded eyes, but he doesn’t answer the question. Shane then decides to just get into his room, get ready for bed and get a good night’s sleep, because he notices how his stomach ache gets worse standing out here.
“Okay, see you around”, he tells his opponent and steps inside to create a barrier between them, but Ilya reacts fast and steps into his room and crowds his space immediately. “What?-“, Shane asks and looks at the man in front of him. The heat he’s been feeling is once again acting up and he wants to turn to grab his pills when Ilya starts talking. “Are you having heat? Are you being omega?”
Shanes blood runs cold. This could be the end of his promising career and only because his body seemed to do whatever it wanted when Ilya Rozanov was close.
Did he accidentally miss a dose of his suppressants? No, it couldn’t be. He was so careful taking them, there was no way he would miss a dose. He tries to be nonchalant about it and tries to smell himself without Ilya seeing it, he must look so weird doing it. Subconsciously, he begins turning his head and neck towards the alpha, in a sign of submission and at the same time he notices his own smell changing.
He backs off, towards the bed and Ilya softly closes the door and follows him there. “Are you?”, he asks again and now he’s getting closer to get a good breather of Shanes smell. “You are, aren’t you?”, he demands and stalks towards the shrinking man close to the bed. Shane is feeling embarrassed, so he sits down almost as if he’s a puppeteer whose strings have been cut.
As soon as he hits the bed he feels the wetness between his thighs and he’s letting out an embarrassed squeak. Ilya is gulping the air as if it’s water and his eyes turn so big and dark, that Shane has a reaction to it. He’s fucking getting wet. He’s in heat or pre-heat, he isn’t sure. He only knows he had only one when he was very young.