Kayden

"Kayden Vale will remain in Northern Avalanche as a defender but will remain benched for this season."Elton officially concluded the meeting with those final words.

The tension that had been suffocating the room for nearly an hour slowly began to dissolve afterward as documents were passed around the table for signatures. Andrew Park, Jeremy Young, and Thomas Brown all signed the finalized agreements while the board members quietly discussed the outcome among themselves.

I sat there silently beside Rhys, still trying to process everything that had just happened.

I was staying in Northern Avalanche.

The omega ban had been lifted.

Omegas could finally play professional sports openly now.

Even after everything, part of me still could not fully believe it.

But strangely enough, that was not the thing occupying most of my thoughts right now. The thing that truly disturbed me was Rami Calder.

Rhys’s grandfather had voted for me.

What the hell was he thinking?

The last thing I remembered clearly was the hatred in his eyes whenever he looked at me. That man had wanted me gone from Rhys’s life from the very beginning, so why had he suddenly voted in my favor?

What exactly did he want from me now?

The more I thought about it, the more uneasy I became.

Rhys must have sensed my distress through the bond because he suddenly reached for my hand beneath the table before gently pulling me closer toward him.

"Calm down," he whispered softly near my ear. "Do not stress yourself out over this right now. We already survived the hardest battle for today."

I slowly nodded even though the uneasiness inside my chest refused to disappear completely.

A few seconds later, Leo suddenly appeared beside us.

"Come with me," he said quietly before motioning for both of us to follow him.

Rhys and I exchanged a glance before immediately standing up and following after him as he led us toward the opposite side of the meeting room where Andrew and Jeremy were standing together.

The closer we got, the more I noticed how relaxed both men looked compared to everyone else inside the room.

Andrew especially looked completely unbothered by the chaos that had unfolded earlier. He casually adjusted the sleeve of his expensive coat before smiling once he noticed us approaching.

"There they are," he said warmly. "The stars of the day."

Rhys let out a quiet laugh beside me while I awkwardly scratched the back of my neck.

"I still cannot believe all of this happened today," I admitted honestly.

Andrew’s smile softened slightly. "Believe it. You made history whether people like it or not."

There was no mockery in his tone. Only sincerity.

Then the question that had been bothering me ever since he introduced himself earlier slipped out before I could stop myself.

"Are you really related to Nico Park?" I asked carefully.

Andrew blinked once before laughing quietly.

"So you noticed the surname."

Rhys crossed his arms beside me. "It was difficult not to."

Andrew smiled before nodding. "Nico is my nephew."

Both Rhys and I stared at him immediately in shock.

"Nephew?" Rhys repeated.

"Yes," Andrew answered casually. "My older brother is Nico’s Father."

That somehow made the entire situation even crazier to process.

Nico Park was practically one of the biggest names in Formula One, and somehow his uncle had ended up becoming the new owner of Northern Avalanche.

I should have connected the dot since he was Leo’s uncle but I didn’t know that it was the side of Rhoda, my thoughts was towards Gabriella.

"I genuinely do not know how to thank you properly," I admitted quietly after a moment. "If you had voted against me earlier..."

"You should not thank me," Andrew interrupted gently before pointing directly toward Leo. "If you truly want to thank someone, thank him."

My eyes immediately shifted toward Leo.

Andrew smiled knowingly. "Leo practically forced all of us into paying attention to your case properly. He would not stop talking about how talented you were and how unfair the omega restrictions had always been."

Leo immediately rolled his eyes. "That is a dramatic exaggeration."

"No," Jeremy said calmly beside him. "It really is not and since you are practically Rhoda’s child, we will do everything to help our own.’’

That made Rhys laugh softly beside me.

Then Andrew’s expression unexpectedly changed slightly the moment his eyes landed on me again. There was something strange in the way he was looking at me now. Almost calculating.

His gaze slowly lowered toward my stomach before returning back to my face again.

A small crease appeared between his brows.

Then he cleared his throat quietly before stepping closer to us.

"Protect the little one," he whispered softly enough that only Rhys and I could hear him.

The moment those words left his mouth, both Rhys and I froze completely.

My eyes widened instantly.

Rhys’s grip around my hand tightened so hard it almost hurt. Neither of us had told anyone. Not a single person outside Leo, Miller knew about the pregnancy.

So how the hell did Andrew know?

Andrew simply smiled calmly afterward like he had not just dropped a bomb directly into our laps.

Then he stepped away casually and returned to Jeremy’s side as if nothing unusual had happened.

The second he walked away, both Rhys and I immediately turned toward Leo at the same time.

Leo sighed dramatically before leaning closer toward us.

"My uncle is an Enigma," he explained quietly. "And not just any Enigma. His scent perception is ridiculously advanced."

My heartbeat immediately sped up again.

"So he can smell it?" Rhys asked in disbelief.

Leo nodded once. "Probably not the pregnancy specifically, but he can definitely detect the hormonal changes beneath the pheromone camouflage. Just like I can.’’

"That is insane," I muttered weakly.

Leo shrugged casually. "Welcome to the terrifying world of Enigmas."

Before either Rhys or I could say anything else, Coach Reddick suddenly approached us with a wide smile on his face.

"Well," he said proudly, "congratulations to both of you."

Rhys immediately straightened slightly beside me. "Thank you, Coach."

Coach Reddick looked directly at me afterward, and for the first time since entering the meeting room earlier, his expression softened completely.

"You handled yourself well today, Kayden," he said sincerely. "A lot better than most professionals twice your age would have."

Something about hearing that almost made my chest ache unexpectedly.

"Thank you," I replied quietly. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

He nodded before continuing. "The media backlash is still going to be difficult moving forward, but eventually this entire situation will settle down. Right now what matters most is protecting your health and keeping unnecessary pressure away from you. I recommend you do your best since you are benched this season because it’s not the end of the world.’’

My hand instinctively moved slightly toward my stomach before I quickly stopped myself.

Thankfully, nobody seemed to notice.

"I understand," I said softly.

Coach Reddick gave me one final reassuring nod before eventually walking away to speak with another group of executives.

For a brief moment, things finally felt calm.

Then suddenly the atmosphere shifted again.

I felt it before I even saw him approaching.

Rami Calder.

The older alpha slowly walked toward us with Richard following a step behind him. His silver cane tapped lightly against the polished floor as every conversation around us seemed to quieten instinctively.

Rhys immediately stiffened beside me.

"Grandfather," he greeted coldly.

Rami ignored him completely at first. His eyes settled directly on me instead.

"Congratulations," he said calmly. "You fought well today."

I genuinely did not know how to respond to that. "Thank you," I answered cautiously after a few seconds.

Then something unexpected happened.

Rami’s expression softened slightly. Not fully. Not enough to make him look kind. But enough to make him look... thoughtful.

"There is something I would like to discuss with you privately, Kayden," he said quietly.

The moment those words left his mouth, Rhys immediately moved closer to me protectively.

"No," he said instantly. "Whatever you want to say can be said in front of me."

Rami finally turned toward his grandson slowly.

"This discussion concerns him directly," he replied calmly. "Not you."

"I do not care." Rhys’s voice hardened instantly. "Kayden is not going anywhere alone with you."