Chapter 1

Shane had known exactly how this was going to go when he’d accepted the invitation to return to the alpha’s room with him but after spending so much time apart, Shane couldn’t bring himself to think of it as a bad idea. Besides, they’d spent years having casual sex and Shane would be lying if he said he wasn’t dying to get the alpha’s dick in his ass again.

They talked first. There was a lot that needed to be said considering how they’d left things at Ilya’s house in Boston but as soon as that was over, their lips were locked and clothes started coming off. Shane could feel himself slicking up and knew if it hadn’t been so long since they’d last had sex that Ilya would have his head buried between his thighs to eat him out but Ilya was acting as though he would die if he didn’t bury his dick inside the omega right now.

Ilya prepared him as quickly as possible but still managed to have Shane begging him to fuck him by the time he withdrew his fingers. Shane couldn’t help but cry out as Ilya slid in to the hilt. He knew he needed to get fucked but knowing and it actually happening were two different things. Ilya started to thrust slowly, allowing Shane’s body to get used to it. If Shane didn’t know any better, he would say Ilya was making love to him instead of fucking him but that was likely to be a conversation for another day.

Ilya continued to thrust into Shane, picking up the pace each time when he suddenly felt his knot beginning to swell. Well, fuck. “Shit, shit, shit.” Ilya chanted. “What's wrong?” Shane asked. “I'm going to knot.” Ilya replied. In all the years they had been doing this, Ilya had never knotted him before. They both paused their movements for a moment. Shane could feel the alpha’s knot expanding and he would be lying if he said he didn’t love it. He’d never been knotted before but he had experienced nearly every first with Ilya so why not this one too? “What do you need?” Shane checked. “What do you mean?” “Where do you need to knot?” “Preferably inside you. I can technically do it if I pull out but it will be painful for me.” Ilya explained. “Okay.” Shane accepted. “Okay?” “Yeah. You can knot me.” Shane explained. “Are you sure?” Ilya questioned. “Ilya.” Shane kissed the alpha gently. “I want you to knot me.” “Oh, fuck.” Ilya hissed as his knot locked them together. Shane had to shove his fist into his mouth so that he didn’t scream as Ilya pressed his knot into him for the last time. Shane had never felt so much pleasure before in his life. “Alpha!” Shane shouted. Ilya quickly kissed him again as they tried to catch their breaths. “Shane…” Ilya trailed off. “It’s okay.” Shane assured. “We’re going to be stuck like this for a while.” Ilya pointed out. “How long?” “I don’t know. It’s different with everyone and I’ve never knotted you before.” Ilya explained. “How come you did tonight?” “I don’t know.” Ilya shrugged. He couldn’t tell the omega that he’d knotted him for the first time because he was in love with him and couldn’t control it anymore. “What do you think?” “I love it. I want you to do it again.” Shane admitted. “We’re going to be doing this again?” Ilya checked with a smirk on his face. “I can change my mind.” “You won’t.” Ilya said. “No, I won’t.” Shane agreed. Ilya just kissed him again. His knot could last anywhere from ten minutes to an hour. He’d never had a knot that had lasted that long before but you never knew. His alpha wanted more than anything to get Shane pregnant, apparently. The only times he’d ever popped a knot had been when he’d been so young he couldn’t control it or when helping an omega through their heat. But he hadn’t been with anyone that wasn’t Shane for a while now. He’d realised he was in love with the omega before November and hadn’t been with anyone but him since. It might have been because they had gone so long without sex. Ilya wasn’t due a rut any time soon and he had no idea when Shane was supposed to go into heat because it wasn’t something they talked about. It wasn’t like he helped Shane through them. Too high a risk.

Part of Shane didn’t want the alpha’s knot to go down. He wanted to stay here, joined with Ilya forever and that scared him. But he wasn’t going to run this time. He couldn’t. Look at how it had gone last time, a disaster of a relationship with a beta woman and he’d still gone crawling back to the Russian alpha. There was no one else for him. Shane knew that now but he didn’t know how Ilya felt. He was too scared to open that conversation right now. Especially considering Ilya’s not had locked them together for an undetermined amount of time. Things would be a little awkward if Ilya rejected him right now.

“Are you okay? You’re not too uncomfortable?” Ilya asked. Shane thought it was quite sweet how nice Ilya was being about this. It was a little inconvenient but Shane couldn’t think of anywhere else he would like to be. The hardest part of this was going to be cleaning himself up and heading back to his own hotel room. Shane was already not looking forward to that. “I’m okay. It’s not what I expected but no one’s ever knotted me before so I had no idea what was going to happen.” Shane explained. “What do you do during heats?” “Well, I have a knotting dildo but it’s not the same thing. I hate it.” Shane admitted. “You hate it?” “I’m going to hate it even more this summer when I go into heat now I know how good the real thing feels.” Shane added. “If you ever want some help…” Ilya trailed off. Shane had to bury his face in the alpha’s neck again so that Ilya couldn’t see him smiling. Maybe things weren’t as hopeless as he’d been thinking they might be.

Chapter 2

Leaving Ilya had been one of the hardest things Shane had ever done but life went on. It wouldn’t be too long before he got to see the alpha again anyway, considering how often Boston and Montreal played against each other. They were due to see each other again in March. They’d gone longer than two months over the years they’d been hooking up but everything felt different now. Shane had always been slightly glued to his phone but now it felt even worse. He wanted to talk to Ilya all the time, wanted to hear his voice. Shane didn’t know if it was because of the knotting or because things had shifted slightly.

Shane watched the alpha play against New York and watched him getting into a fight with Scott Hunter. He wondered what the Russian alpha had said that led to Scott being the first one to throw a punch. The one time Shane had fought the New York captain, the omega had been the one to throw the first punch. He still regretted it. He wasn’t much of a fighter but Scott’s comments had really gotten to him that day.

Before he knew it, he was in Boston to play against Ilya and his team. It was a really bad idea but Shane went to the alpha’s house before the match and let the alpha knot him again, using proper knotting condoms this time. Not that he’d had any issues with them not using one in Tampa.

“Is everything okay?” Ilya checked when Shane stepped into the alpha’s space to give him a kiss. “Yes. Why wouldn’t it be?” Shane asked. “You smell different. Not a lot but still enough for me to notice it. Are you sure you’re not coming down with something?” Ilya continued. “I feel fine. I don’t even have the sniffles.” Shane said. Ilya raised an eyebrow but Shane distracted him by finally joining their lips. They only had a limited amount of time together since Shane would need to leave in an hour, two at a push. Ilya shrugged it off. If it wasn’t bothering Shane then he wasn’t going to let it bother him.

A couple of days later, Shane found out that Ilya’s father had died and he’d unexpectedly had to head back to Moscow. Shane hoped the alpha was okay. He’d gotten the impression during the night in Tampa that there was no love lost between Ilya and the rest of his family but the alpha would still have to show his face at the funeral. Shane liked to think the chats they’d had over the phone had helped, especially when he’d let Ilya rant to him for at least five minutes. Shane would be lying if he said listening to Ilya speak in Russian didn’t make him a little wet.

He was looking forward to the Boston team being in Montreal in three weeks. It hadn’t even been that long since he’d last seen Ilya, last had the alpha inside him but something had definitely changed that day in Tampa and he was gagging for it all the time now. What had Ilya done to him? Shane had never wanted to be one of those omegas that was obsessed with being knotted all the time but Ilya did it once and now it was all he could think about. Shane hated himself for it.

“Is everything okay?” Yuna asked when Shane joined her and David for dinner the week before the next Boston/Montreal match. “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” Shane replied, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Shane had a feeling he knew what she was going to say based on the conversation he’d had with Ilya a couple of weeks ago. “Your scent has changed.” Yuna said. “Has it?” “Only slightly. People probably wouldn’t be able to tell unless they know you as well as we do. I’m guessing no one else has since you weren’t aware of it.” David added. “I feel fine. I mean, I changed my diet slightly so my stomach has been a bit queasy while my body has adjusted but other than that I feel great. I think we’ve got a good shot at winning the Cup again.” Shane smiled. His parents were more than happy to drop it. Especially Yuna who enjoyed talking to Shane about each team's chances at winning the cup this year. Montreal had won it for the last two years in a row and it would be incredible if they pulled off the hat trick.

It did make Shane wonder slightly because that was now three people who had noticed a change in his scent. He wasn't due to see his omega doctor, Doctor Brown, until July because he only saw her once a year after his heat to make sure that he was okay and check all his vitals were still okay for him to stay on industrial strength birth control and suppressants. He had no need to see her the rest of the year. But he figured it could wait until after the match with Boston, until Ilya had knotted him for a third time. Shane truly couldn’t wait.

It was a bad idea. Everything about Ilya had been a bad idea from the start but it was far too late to turn back now. Not that Shane would want to. Despite the alpha’s frosty exterior, Shane got to see a different side of him. He would never forget the gentle kiss Ilya had given him before departing the first night they’d had sex in Montreal. It had meant everything to Shane then and it still did now. That had been the first and only time he’d ever been with an alpha and he loved how good Ilya had made him feel. The Russian alpha had ruined him for everyone else the first time they’d had sex and Shane couldn’t even bring himself to be mad about it. At least things were better between them now.

Lily: Ready to be knotted again next week? Jane: Bring it on.

Chapter 3

Shane had received a lot more messages from Ilya in the days leading up to the match. Some of them were steamy and had caused the omega to blush as he read them, some of them made no sense and some of them were just sweet. Shane could not keep track. He couldn’t wait to see him in person again. He would have to ask Ilya to knot him again. The alpha had seemed a little reluctant last time in Boston but Shane had persuaded him. Not that it had taken much convincing. It was just because there was slightly more risk of Shane getting pregnant if Ilya knotted him but considering the omega wasn’t in heat and he was on birth control, it was very unlikely that he would get pregnant.

He’d been unable to resist skating over to Ilya before the match but he was able to play it off as offering the alpha his condolences on the death of his father. They’d not seen each other since just before that had happened and no one needed to know that Shane had already given Ilya his condolences and a bit more besides that. Shane couldn’t wait. He was so excited to be back on the ice with Ilya, no one challenged him quite like the alpha did. He couldn’t resist smiling during the face off, even though he should have been serious at that moment but at least Ilya seemed to be in the same boat.

The omega won the face off and raced away with the puck, turning back to smile at Ilya when suddenly everything went black for a moment and he crumpled to the ice. Ilya felt his entire body turn cold. Pike was already cursing out Marlow and Ilya was grateful for that because he couldn’t exactly turn on his own teammate for hurting his omega. No matter how much he wanted to.

It was one of the hardest things Ilya had ever had to do. Watching Shane be put on a gurney and wheeled off the ice. “Is he okay? Just fucking tell me!” Ilya requested. “Go to your bench.” The ref told the alpha. Ilya felt like he couldn’t breathe. Was Shane okay? Would Shane be okay? How bad was the damage? If the omega had been looking in front of him instead of back at Ilya then he would’ve been able to brace himself and get into a better position but Shane had been looking at him and hadn’t seen it coming. Shane… Ilya knew they couldn’t carry on the way they were. He loved Shane too much for that and he figured the omega clearly had similar feelings.

This had ruined everything. Ilya knew how much Shane had been looking forward to after the match and Ilya would be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t been looking forward to sinking his knot into the omega again. Ever since that night in Tampa, he’d been unable to control it and they really needed to talk about why.

Continuing with the match, without Shane there felt wrong. Ilya’s alpha needed to know how his omega was and he had no way of knowing. Ilya needed to see for himself so as soon as the match was over, he managed to get the location of the hospital out of his coach. Ilya had bullshitted his way through an explanation about how it was the captainly thing to do and thankfully his coach had believed him.

Walking into Shane’s room was painful. The omega was awake and alert enough even though he seemed pretty out of it on painkillers. It was so soon after the match that no one from Shane’s team had made it to the hospital to check on him and Shane’s parents were still trying to make their way to Montreal.

“You scared me.” Ilya admitted, stepping closer and taking Shane’s hand in his. “I’m okay. Just a concussion and a fractured collarbone.” Shane smiled. “Just.” “I’m okay, Ilya.” Shane assured. Ilya was unable to resist and leaned down to give the omega a quick kiss. He didn’t want to risk anyone finding out about them that way. “Marlow feels terrible.” Ilya added. He hadn’t actually spoken to Cliff Marlow yet because he didn’t know if he would be unable to resist punching the other alpha and didn’t want to find out. It would be okay now that he knew Shane was going to be okay. He would be able to be in the same room as his teammate. “I shouldn’t have been looking at you.” Shane said. “No, you shouldn’t.” Ilya agreed. “I just can’t take my eyes off you.” Shane confessed. “I know. I can’t either.” Ilya said, moving the chair at the edge of the room closer to the bed so that he could sit down but still hold the omega’s hand. He didn’t want to let go of Shane right now, as though the omega would slip through his fingers if he did. “Willyoucometomycottagethisummer?” Shane asked. “I’m sorry?” “Will you come to my cottage this summer? Don’t go to Russia. Come to my house. You could help me through my heat.” Shane asked. “Ask me again when you’re not high on painkillers. You probably won’t even remember this.” Ilya reasoned. “No is a valid answer. You don’t have to.” Shane said, sadly. It broke Ilya’s heart to see this but anyone could overhear this conversation and he was so worried about someone finding out about him and Shane when the alpha didn’t even know if there was a him and Shane.

Ilya wished more than anything that he could stay with Shane all night but he had a flight to catch tomorrow. It was suspicious enough that Ilya had arrived before Shane’s parents and teammates. But he couldn’t bring himself to leave the omega alone. They chatted some more until Shane’s eyes kept slipping closed. Ilya resisted the urge to press a kiss to the sleeping omega’s head before making his exit and literally running into Yuna Hollander.

“Oh!” Yuna exclaimed. “Sorry.” Ilya offered. “What are you doing here, Rozanov?” Pike asked, appearing from who knows where. “I wanted to check Hollander was okay. Marlow feels terrible.” Ilya explained. “Well he should.” Pike huffed. “It was clean. Shane just didn’t see it coming.” Yuna told her son’s best friend. “Still, not nice.” Ilya said. “Thank you for coming to see him. That was kind of you.” Yuna remarked. Ilya felt like she was sizing him up and wanted nothing more than to get out from under her scrutinising gaze. “Was no trouble.” Ilya said, honestly. Yuna and Pike then went to see Shane and Ilya was able to make his escape. At least Shane wouldn’t be alone when he woke up.

Chapter 4

Shane was feeling a little better, his head was still a bit woozy but they had him on pretty strong painkillers so that was probably why. That and the concussion. Still, he was a little unsure why his doctor had come into the room and asked his parents to leave. “How are you feeling today, Mr Hollander?” Doctor Bouchard asked with a warm smile. “A little out of it.” Shane chuckled. “That’s understandable given what happened.” Doctor Bouchard replied. “There was just something I needed to talk to you about, though.” “Oh?” Shane was confused. This sounded serious. More serious than a concussion. “We found something when we were checking you over and needed to make you aware of it.” “Okay?” Shane said, starting to panic slightly. He didn’t have cancer, did he? He must have something bad, must be dying or something with how bad this sounded. “You’re pregnant.” Doctor Bouchard announced. “No. No way.” Shane denied. “We ran multiple tests and even did an ultrasound. You’re definitely pregnant, Mr Hollander.” Doctor Bouchard insisted. “But how?” Shane asked, facing crumpling as he felt tears spring to his eyes. Shane couldn’t believe what he was hearing. There was no way. They’d been careful. They never had sex without a condom and he was on the strongest birth control and heat suppressants possible. They’d never shared a heat. How had Ilya still managed to get him pregnant? A sneaky voice in the back of his head thought back to Tampa when Ilya had knotted him for the first time. They’d just been using a standard condom then, not a knotting one. “What do you mean, how?” Doctor Bouchard queried. “I’ve never been with an alpha when I’ve been in heat and any partners have always used protection. I’m on industrial strength birth control and heat suppressants.” Shane explained. “That is a good question and one I don’t really have an answer for. You’d probably be best making an appointment with your usual omega doctor, they might be able to answer that question better.” Doctor Bouchard offered, before leaving the room. She wasn’t as well versed in omega biology as his doctor would be.

Shane knew immediately that he was going to have to take a break from hockey. It was likely to be at least twelve months before he was back on the ice. He’d never had a baby before so he didn’t know what the recovery would be like. He also didn’t know how the Metros would take it. He may not have a team to return to once the baby was born. Shane was an unmated omega who was pregnant with the child of his biggest rival. There was no way this would go down well, although depending on how Ilya took it, there was always a chance that Shane wouldn’t end up revealing the baby’s alpha.

“What was that about?” Yuna asked as soon as she and David returned to their son’s hospital room. “It was nothing, mom.” Shane dismissed. “If it was nothing then why did she ask us to leave?” Yuna countered. “I’m tired.” Shane said. It was the coward’s way out but he knew that Yuna would back off if he played up his injury. Which she did and he was very grateful for it. His mind was spinning, partly from the concussion but also from the bomb that had just been dropped on him. He must be at least three months along if the baby had been conceived in Tampa so why hadn’t he experienced any symptoms?

Part of Shane knew having this baby was a bad idea but from the moment he had learned of their existence, he already loved them. It was funny, he’d never given much thought to having children before now but he was obsessed with the idea of having a baby now. He loved them, a child that was part of him and part of the alpha he loved. Part Shane and part Ilya. There was so much that would need doing and Shane knew he desperately needed to make an appointment to see his usual doctor but that would have to wait until his parents stopped hovering. It was not going to be easy to keep the baby a secret from them but he was determined to somehow tell Ilya first.

A few days later, Shane was discharged from the hospital and as much as he wanted to go to the cottage, his parents wouldn’t let him just yet. Shane hadn’t told them about the baby and was feeling very grateful for that considering how overbearing they were being right now. He wanted to tell Ilya first although he had no idea how he was going to do that when the Russian would likely be in either Russia or Boston and Shane would still be here in Canada. Sure, when Ilya had visited him in the hospital, Shane had offered for the alpha to join him at his cottage but the Russian seemed to think it would be a bad idea so the omega doubted that he would see the alpha any time soon.

It was going to be difficult. He wouldn’t be returning for the season when it started again and there were so many people he needed to talk to and so many things he needed to do. The omega quite enjoyed watching hockey with Yuna even though he was disappointed that he wasn’t playing for the cup this year. That would have to wait a while now. Shane found that the hardest part of being told he was pregnant was fighting the urge to rest his hand on his stomach at all times. There was no way he would be able to explain that to his parents without giving it away.

One day when Shane had convinced his parents that he was okay for an hour while they nipped out to get some shopping, he called his usual doctor and made an appointment for in a couple of days time. He had no idea how he was explaining it to his parents but he might just say that the hospital wanted to see him for a follow up appointment. Shane was trying to hide it but he was so excited to finally see his baby. It was one thing to know he was pregnant but it would be another entirely to see his baby himself. He didn’t know anything other than the fact he was pregnant.

Although, the omega had a pretty good idea of when the baby had been conceived. Ilya had only knotted him twice and one of those times they had used knotting condoms so it must have been at the All-Star game. Shane knew how lucky he was that his brutal injury on the ice a couple of weeks ago hadn’t hurt the baby in any way. And he would be able to see that for himself soon enough.

Chapter 5

Shane had done a lot of nerve wracking things in his life but nothing compared to walking into the room to see his omega doctor. “Good morning, Mr Hollander. How are you today?” Doctor Brown smiled, reassuringly. He was sure that she could tell that he was a wreck and Shane was only too grateful for her familiarity. “I’m not doing too badly.” Shane replied with a small smile. “So, what can I do for you today?” “I, uh, I was in the hospital for a concussion and fractured collarbone last week and while I was there, the doctor informed me that I’m pregnant.” Shane explained. “Congratulations.” Doctor Brown offered. “Thank you.” Shane said, a brighter smile lighting up his face. “This is happy news, then?” “Unexpected but yeah, I’m thrilled to be having a baby.” Shane admitted. “Good.” Doctor Brown said. “So, we have a few things to go over then.” “Yeah.” “Do you know how far along you are likely to be?” Doctor Brown asked, getting straight to business. “Not really. I’ve only been knotted twice, once in January and once in February but we used condoms both times and we’ve never shared a heat or a rut. I’m on the strongest suppressants and birth control possible and we always use additional protection so I’m at a bit of a loss.” Shane explained. “I can understand why you would be. So it sounds like you’re about three or four months along then.” Doctor Brown offered. “How can I be pregnant when taking so many steps to prevent it?” “You said you’ve been knotted twice? Did you use knotting condoms?” Doctor Brown checked. Shane just nodded to the first question and shrugged for the second one. He didn’t know if the condoms that Ilya usually bought were knot proof considering it had never happened before. He imagined the ones in January might not have been but was sure they would’ve been when he was in Boston a couple of months ago. They’d both been so careful about it for years and the one time Ilya knotted him, he ended up pregnant. Because of course he did. “I don’t know.” Shane admitted. “I’ve been with this alpha quite a few times and he’s never knotted me before January.” “If he’s never knotted you before January then it’s unlikely the condoms he was using then were knot proof. I can’t say for certain but call it an educated guess." Doctor Brown reasoned. Shane could feel himself relaxing in her presence, which was good. He’d been terrified to come here today but he needed to know as much as possible. From the moment he’d been told about the baby, Shane had known he’d be keeping it. He loved Ilya. Shane hadn’t allowed himself to admit that before but it was true and now he was having the alpha’s baby. It seemed like a bad idea to keep denying how he felt about the Russian. “Have you had any symptoms?” “A couple of people have mentioned a change of scent but since I didn’t really have any other symptoms I just dismissed it. Wait, I was really nauseous when I changed my diet slightly but attributed it to the change in diet.” Shane explained.

Shane went through the basics with Doctor Brown, answering all of her other questions, standing on the scales so she could check his weight and allowing her to draw some blood to be checked before she told him to hop onto the bed so he could see his baby for the first time. Shane was very excited about that. He also really wanted to know that they were okay considering how he’d found out about them. He knew they must be for the doctor in the hospital to have just told him he was pregnant but Shane was an overthinker and he worried about everything.

“Everything looks great.” Doctor Brown offered. Shane couldn’t help but let out the breath he’d been holding. If he’d known about the baby then there was no way he would’ve still been on the ice but he’d had minimal symptoms that he could pass off as something else and considering he and Ilya had almost always done everything they could to prevent a pregnancy, it just hadn’t occurred to Shane. He’d been a little worried about them being hurt by him being knocked out but it seemed their baby was a fighter. “Really?” Shane checked. “Really. You look to have a very healthy baby here. I’ll just need to wait for the results of the blood test but I have no concerns right now.” Doctor Brown assured. Shane smiled as she turned the screen around to show him. “Baby definitely looks to be around four months.” “So me getting hurt hasn’t done anything to them?” Shane asked. “No. They’re still wriggling away in there.” Doctor Brown said. “Good, good.” Shane mumbled as he started to cry. He was so glad there was a reason that he had been more emotional lately. He’d thought it might have something to do with his impending heat but he’d never been particularly weepy during a heat before and wondered why he would be starting now. Knowing he was pregnant made so much sense but it wasn’t a connection he would’ve made if he had been told. It sounded stupid but Shane knew his body really well and he had always thought it would be more obvious. He didn’t even have a bump yet but that was probably because he was still in the early stages of his pregnancy and because he was an athlete so his body was in peak physical condition.

Doctor Brown pressed a button and the room was filled with a whooshing sound. “That's the baby's heartbeat.” “Really?” Shane breathed. It sounded strong so he probably had nothing to worry about but he would probably spend the entire duration of his pregnancy worrying about them. He loved this baby so much. Sure, they threw a real spanner in the works but no matter how Ilya reacted, Shane was going to have this baby. Although Shane had a sneaking suspicion that the alpha was also aware that things had changed between them. They definitely had at the end of last year and again in January when Shane had confessed to liking the alpha ‘a little too much.’ Ilya wasn’t stupid. “Would it be possible to bring the alpha next time you visit? There are certain questions on family history that would be helpful to know but it’s not required. I can still take care of you both without them.” Doctor Brown queried. Shane appreciated how tactful she was being. She’d been his omega doctor for a long time and he’d never had an alpha before, had never shown any indication that he was seeing anyone apart from the highly publicised brief daliance with Rose Landry who was a very well known beta. His doctor would know that she didn’t get him pregnant. “I can ask him but I’ll make no promises.” Shane replied. He needed to think how best to break the news to Ilya but had no idea when he’d next be seeing the alpha.

Thankfully, Scott Hunter solved the problem for him by kissing his boyfriend on live TV after winning the Stanley Cup. Ilya had agreed to come to the cottage.

Chapter 6

When Ilya arrived at the cottage, he knew there was something different about Shane. He could smell it on him. What ‘it’ was, Ilya didn’t know but he could tell that it was making the omega nervous. That was the last thing Ilya wanted to do so he wrapped his arms around the omega and drew him into a kiss. It was sending Ilya’s senses haywire, his brain kept telling him that Shane was his omega but Ilya knew he had no right to call the omega that.

Ilya would be lying, to himself and to everyone, if he said he wasn’t in love with Shane. He was. He had been for a while and had told the omega as such in Russian when his father had died but Shane didn’t speak Russian so he didn’t know what Ilya had actually said to him. It was both a blessing because who the fuck to told the omega they’d been sleeping with for the last eight years that they loved them over the phone? But it was also difficult because now that Ilya had said those words, he knew he could never take them back, never deny his feelings for Shane, not to himself or anyone else.

“Are you okay?” Ilya asked. “Yes.” Shane said with a shy smile. He was everything to Ilya. “All healed?” Ilya checked. “I’ve had to put up with weeks of this from my mom, I don’t need you to start.” Shane scoffed. “Shane…” Ilya trailed off, crowding the omega up against the wall and joining their lips in a heated kiss. “Ilya, we need to talk first.” Shane said, pushing the alpha away from him slightly. There was nothing he wanted more right now than to have Ilya inside of him but he needed to tell the Russian about their baby. About the life they had created together. Albeit unintentionally. “I thought everything was okay?” Ilya said. “It is. It’s not something bad. At least, I don’t think it’s bad but that’s up to you.” Shane rambled. “Just tell me.” Ilya requested, starting to feel worried. What could possibly be going on? “Maybe it’s easier to show you.” Shane said. He moved over to the kitchen and pulled something off of the fridge before handing it to Ilya. “What am I looking at?” Ilya questioned. “I’m pregnant, you asshole.” Shane stated. “This is your baby?” Ilya queried. “No. It’s our baby.” Shane corrected. “Our…” “Yeah.” Shane smiled, shyly. “Our baby.” Ilya repeated. “Yes.” Shane nodded. Ilya gently put the sonogram down on the kitchen counter before pulling Shane into his arms as the tears fell. “We’re having a baby?” “We’re having a baby.” Shane confirmed, crying himself.

They stayed like that, arms around each other for a while, just soaking in the moment. “I love you.” Ilya whispered. “Fuck.” Shame mumbled, the tears that had just stopped quickly restarting. “I-” “I love you, too.” Shane sniffled. Ilya just held him tighter. He loved Shane. Shane loved him. They were having a baby together. It was terrifying. It was exhilarating. It was everything. “How are you pregnant?” Ilya asked. “That night in Tampa.” Shane chuckled. “But-” “One knot is all it takes, apparently.” Shane said. “Clearly.” Ilya chuckled. “But you’re okay with this? I mean, I know how important hockey is to you and am a little surprised that-” “That I didn’t get an abortion?” Shane interrupted. “Yeah.” “I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t crossed my mind but I fell in love with the idea of having your baby immediately. I knew I couldn’t get rid of them. I know I’d end up regretting it. It’s funny, I’ve always wanted kids but wanted to wait until I retired. I changed my mind.” Shane explained. “I am very glad you changed your mind.” Ilya admitted, holding the omega closer to him. “We’ve gone about this the wrong way, haven’t we?” Shane laughed. “I mean, in a way, we’ve been together for the last eight years.” Ilya reasoned. “Yeah, that’s not going to make this any easier to explain.” “Probably not.” Ilya agreed, with a laugh. Their whole situation was so messed up but neither of them would change anything. They were going to have a baby together. “We have so much that needs sorting.” Shane sighed. “We can focus on that later.” Ilya reasoned, pressing kisses to the side of Shane’s neck. He’d always been obsessed with the omega’s neck but it was too much of a risk. Besides, they weren’t mates. Not yet anyway. “Can I call you my omega?” “Please.” Shane whimpered. He was about to cry again, stupid hormones! “I've been doing it in my head for months. My alpha wants to claim you, mate you. I do, too.” Ilya admitted. “I'm yours.” Shane smiled. Ilya kissed him again, slipping his tongue into the omega's mouth. “Looks like you don't need me to help you through your heat after all.” Ilya remarked. “If you don't knot me right now I will go and find someone who will.” Shane warned. Ilya couldn't help but growl at that. Shane laughed, knowing that would get the exact reaction he wanted.

Shane took his alpha by the hand and led him to his bedroom. Shane had already turned the bed into a makeshift nest. “Can I have your shirt?” Shane asked, shyly. Ilya removed it and handed it to the omega who quickly added it to the nest before removing his own shirt. Ilya didn’t know how pregnancy worked but he could already see a slight swell to Shane’s stomach and it made his alpha go wild. He’d done that. That was his omega. That was his baby. Shane removed the rest of his clothes and laid down on the bed. “You can come in, you know?” “I didn’t want to assume.” Ilya said. Shane would’ve found it sweet if he wasn’t so pent up. He needed his alpha’s knot inside him. Ilya followed Shane’s lead and stripped off before getting inside the nest. Shane immediately climbed into his lap and kissed his alpha. It didn’t take Ilya long to lick his way into Shane’s mouth. Shane could feel how slick he was already and was tempted to just take Ilya like this but he knew the alpha would want to prep him first. “Hurry up.” Shane groaned as Ilya’s hand made its way to his ass. “Patience, my omega. I’ll give you what you want.” Ilya assured, continuing to kiss Shane as he pressed a first finger inside. Shane knew he wasn’t going to last very long today and he wanted Ilya to be inside him when he came. “You can hurry the fuck up about it.” Shane snapped as Ilya quickly added a second finger. If the alpha hadn’t been dying for it himself then he would’ve drawn it out but he wanted to be inside Shane as much as Shane wanted him to be. Ilya made quick work of stretching Shane and was soon removing all three fingers, much to the omega’s displeasure. “Do you want to cum on my dick or my fingers?” Ilya asked. “Your dick.” Shane mumbled. “That’s what I thought.” Ilya smirked. “Lie on your side for me.” “But I want to see you.” Shane protested. “It will be uncomfortable when I knot you.” Ilya warned. “I don’t care.”

Shane straddled his alpha as Ilya lined himself up and Shane sank down onto him. “Alpha!” Shane whined as Ilya filled him. Ilya had to focus so he didn’t thrust straight in to the hilt. There was nothing he wanted more than to have his entire dick inside his omega but they had the whole week, the whole two weeks. Shane wouldn’t need any additional preparation by the time Ilya was done with him. It was slow going to start with but it wasn’t long before Shane was riding him with abandon, it was the hottest thing ever. Ilya loved being in control, he was normally the one that controlled everything from their position to the pace so it made quite a good change. Ilya loved watching Shane like this. Knowing no one else had ever or would ever get to see him like this.

Soon enough, Ilya could feel the tell tale signs that he was going to knot. The rapidly expanding base kept catching on Shane’s rim as the omega continued to work up and down his dick. “I’m close.” Shane admitted. “I know you are, sweetheart.” Ilya replied. He could feel how Shane was starting to spasm around his knot. A couple of thrusts later, Ilya thrusted his hips up to meet Shane’s and the omega cried out as he came, dragging Ilya over the edge with him. Two weeks of this. It was going to be bliss.

Chapter 7

Shane and Ilya had been living in a bubble ever since the omega had told his alpha about their baby and they had discussed the future but it wasn’t going to last forever. They could fool themselves into thinking it but reality was always going to come crashing back down on them eventually.

Shane had been sitting on the rock, watching Ilya swim in the lake with a fond smile on his face and a hand resting on his ever so slight bump. Being a professional hockey player, Shane was very familiar with his own body and knew that yes, it may just be bloating but based on the fact that he was over four months pregnant, it was likely to be their baby growing that he could feel. Ilya, who was intimately familiar with Shane’s body, had been the first one to point it out. The omega was starting to get a little chilly, so the couple had wrapped themselves in their towels and headed back to the cottage. They stopped in the doorway so that Ilya could lock their lips before he stepped back like he’d been burned. Shane followed his line of sight and found his dad standing in the kitchen, watching them.

David quickly turned and fled, before Shane could catch up to his dad, the man had driven off. When Shane returned to the kitchen, he found the sonogram that had been on the fridge was now laying on the counter. His dad knew he was pregnant and had finally put two and two together regarding Ilya. Shane felt sick. Not that it was a new sensation recently but it wasn’t fun, having to pause and throw up. Ilya comfortingly rubbed his back as Shane started to spiral. Shane was terrified of how his parents would react. Mostly about Ilya but also about the baby. Yuna was going to be furious with him. She’d drilled it into him how careful he needed to be. He was already at a disadvantage compared to other players because he was an omega. Most of the Montreal Metros didn’t even know Shane was an omega because it was such a closely guarded secret. Management and their coach knew but Shane couldn’t see anyone being accepting of the fact he was pregnant.

Ilya drove to the cottage that Shane’s parents lived in, knowing his omega was in no state to do it himself. Ilya hoped more than anything that this was going to go well but neither of them knew how Yuna and David were going to take it. Especially when they were being faced with Shane having an alpha and being pregnant on the same day. “It will be okay.” Ilya assured, keeping a hand on Shane’s thigh whenever he didn’t need to use both hands. Thankfully, it was a short drive. “I know.” Shane sighed. “Whatever happens, you have me and our baby. We’re not going anywhere.” Ilya smiled. Shane couldn’t help but smile, too. This was all he had wanted for so long. He’d known, that day back in Boston when he’d freaked out. Had probably known he loved Ilya for a lot longer but wouldn’t let himself think that way when he thought the Russian alpha only wanted sex from him. They’d come a long way since then. They’d come a long way since January.

David and Yuna were waiting for them when they arrived. Yuna looked very confused and David looked guilty. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you guys to find out like that.” Shane apologised, standing in the doorway with Ilya’s comforting hand resting on his lower back. Ever since he’d been told about the baby, Ilya had to be touching him at all times. Shane loved it. It made his omega preen. “Find out what?” Yuna asked. Shane pulled the sonogram out of his pocket. “About Ilya and the baby.” Shane admitted. “So that’s what the doctor wanted to talk to you about when she kicked us out of the room?” Yuna checked. “Yes. I had no idea I was pregnant until she told me. Minimal symptoms that I could pass off as something else. And we’ve never shared a heat or rut and we always use protection. I was left with more questions than answers.” Shane chuckled. “And?” Yuna continued. “It doesn’t matter. What matters is me, Ilya and the baby.” Shane dismissed. He wasn’t going to talk about the alpha knotting him in front of his parents. They knew how sex worked, considering Shane was their son. “How far along are you?” Yuna asked. “About 18 weeks now.” Shane admitted. “And you seriously had no idea? Not even when we mentioned your scent had changed.” David checked. “No. Looking back on it now, I definitely should have seen some of the signs but I just didn’t.” Shane sighed. He felt awful that the baby had been through so much stress just because he didn’t pay attention to his body. He could’ve lost them when he’d been hurt by Marlow. Ilya really would’ve killed his own teammate then. “What’s the plan?” Yuna asked. Shane was thankful that she was being logical about this although he felt a little bad that his parents had hardly acknowledged his alpha so far. “Can we sit down first?” Shane queried. “Of course. I’ll make us all a drink.” David offered. “Maybe just get out the vodka.” Yuna suggested. “I’ll have a ginger ale.” Shane said, deadpan. He took a seat at the table and Ilya sat next to him. His parents took the seats opposite them. “Nothing’s changed.” David smiled. “Everything’s changed.” Shane corrected but he appreciated his dad trying to put him at ease. The only reason he hadn’t had a panic attack yet was because of Ilya’s hand on his back, keeping him grounded. “Let’s start with Rozanov.” David suggested. “Ilya.” Ilya corrected. “Sorry. Ilya.” David accepted. “There’s so much to unpack here.” Shane warned. “How about you start at the beginning?” Yuna said. Shane and Ilya couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “I didn’t realise that was funny.” David remarked. “The beginning was summer before rookie year.” Ilya laughed. “WHAT?!” Yuna exclaimed. “You’ve been together since then? Why haven't you mated yet?” “Whoa, we haven’t been together since then.”Shane said. “But-” “Things were…” Shane trailed off, unsure of how to explain their situation to his parents. “Casual?” Ilya suggested. Shane nodded. It seemed to take both David and Yuna a moment to understand what Ilya had said before Yuna raised her eyebrows and David’s eyes widened. “Oh.” Yuna offered. “Yeah.” Shane agreed. “But how did that turn into having a baby together?” Yuna questioned. “By accident.” Shane said. Ilya had to laugh at how blunt Shane was being. It was just who Shane was and Ilya loved that about him. “By falling in love.” Ilya added, lacing their fingers together. Shane smiled at him and rested his head on Ilya’s shoulder. Ilya leaned down to press a kiss to the side of Shane’s head. “We’re having a grandchild.” Yuna said to David with a smile on her face. “We’re having a grandchild.” David agreed.

Chapter 8

“It’s good to see you again.” Doctor Brown smiled as Shane walked into the room, Ilya in tow. If she was surprised to see Shane Hollander’s arch rival walk into the room beside him, she did a great job at hiding it. “And you, Doctor Brown. This is Ilya, my alpha.” Shane introduced, in English. “Lovely to meet you.” Doctor Brown said, switching from French to English, too. “You, too.” Ilya replied. Shane could tell his alpha was nervous. He was also really excited to see their baby, too. “There are just some questions I need to ask you about your family history before we can look at the baby. If they’re in a cooperative mood we may even be able to see if you’re having a boy or girl, if that’s something you want to know.” Doctor Brown offered as they took a seat. “Yes, please.” Shane smiled. “We would like to know.” Ilya agreed.

It didn’t take long for Ilya to answer all of the necessary questions and in no time Shane was being led over to the bed. This was the part Ilya had been looking forward to the most. It was one thing to see their baby in the sonogram that Shane had shown him but it was another to see it with his own eyes. It was another thing to hear their heartbeat, too.

Shane got comfortable on the bed and lifted his shirt up. With each week that had passed since he'd found out about the baby, Shane had to admit that it was getting more obvious that he was pregnant. Thankfully, being fit and healthy had kept the baby hidden a little longer. Even if he hadn't figured it out, he would've eventually put two and tow together. Most likely when his heat didn't come but that didn't matter. He knew and he was in love with their baby.

Ilya took the seat beside his omega and held Shane’s hand. He could feel the tears in his eyes when Doctor Brown pressed a button and the room was filled with a whooshing sound. “Is that-” “Yeah, that’s their heartbeat.” Shane smiled, tears in his eyes, too. “Our baby.” Ilya sniffled. He pressed a chaste kiss to Shane’s lips. He couldn’t quite believe that this was his life. That he got to have this. “And you would definitely like to know if you’re having a boy or girl?” Doctor Brown checked. “Yes, please.” Shane and Ilya said in unison. “You’ve got a very healthy baby girl here.” Doctor Brown smiled. Neither Shane nor Ilya could stop the tears from falling. A baby girl. They were having a daughter. “She’s perfect.” Ilya said, resting a hand on Shane’s stomach, where Doctor Brown wasn’t using the machine on it. “I love you so much.” “I love you, too.” Shane sniffled as Ilya kissed him. “We have so much to do.” Shane groaned on the drive back to the cottage. “What do you mean?” Ilya asked. “I’m going to have to announce that I won’t be playing next season. There’s no way I’m putting baby girl at risk any more than she already has been. Besides, I can’t play hockey while pregnant anyway. I’ll have to tell the team why. Who knows how they’re all going to react to having an unmated pregnant omega on the team. I’m going to get kicked off, I’m sure I am. It’ll be worse when they find out it’s your baby. They’ll hate me.” Shane spiralled. Thankfully Ilya was the one driving so Shane didn’t have to focus on the road while he was about to have a panic attack. Ilya pulled over to the side of the road and turned to face Shane, placing a comforting hand over the omega’s. It was a lot, they had both known that choosing to have this baby was going to change everything but they were still going to have her because they loved each other and they loved her. She was everything to them. Sure, the timing could have been a little better but neither of them would change it for the world because they got to have a baby. A baby they had created with their love for each other. It wasn’t going to be easy but neither of them were quitters, neither of them were going to back down at the first hurdle. Or the fifth. “I’m right here, Shane. I’m not going anywhere. Can you focus on your breathing for me? That’s it, in and out.” Ilya demonstrated some loud breaths and it didn’t take long for Shane to calm down. Ilya leaned over and kissed his omega. Shane would be really tired now, partly because of the baby but also because panic attacks usually exhausted him. And sometimes gave him migraines. “Thank you.” Shane mumbled, sleepily. They still had another half an hour of their drive left. “Go to sleep. I'll wake you when we get back to the cottage.” Ilya assured.

It didn't take long for Shane to fall asleep and it gave Ilya lots of time to think. Shane had been right, of course. It would be foolish of them not to think about the impact that this baby was going to have on every aspect of their lives. Ilya lived in and played for Boston. How were they supposed to raise their baby together in different countries?

But Ilya would be a free agent at the end of the next season. He'd nearly completed his contract with Boston and he wasn't tied to there. He would happily move to Canada to be closer to Shane and their daughter. But currently, they had no idea what the future was going to look like. Ilya was supposed to return to Boston next week for training and he couldn't think of anything worse. He didn't want to leave his omega.

When they got back to the cottage, Shane was still fast asleep so Ilya unlocked the door before carrying his omega from the car to the bedroom. Yuna and David would be arriving in a couple of hours as they wanted to know how the appointment had gone. Ilya knew Yuna would be the best person to talk to about his conflicting thoughts. She was Shane's manager after all, surely if anyone could help him figure out what to do, it would be her.

Chapter 9

Shane was still asleep when Yuna and David arrived so Ilya was the one to let them into the cottage. “Where’s Shane?” Yuna asked, a little unsure over spending time with Ilya Rozanov without Shane as a buffer. “Sleeping. Had panic attack.” Ilya explained. “Why?” David questioned. “Worried about everything. Not surprising, really.” Ilya said. “No, it’s a lot to take in. I know he’s worried about how the Metros are going to take it.” Yuna agreed. “How are you feeling?” David queried. “I’m okay.” Ilya said. “Are you?” Yuna checked. “I’m worried about Shane and everything but we’ll figure it out.” Ilya shrugged. “How are you meant to do that when you’re in Boston?” Yuna continued. “I don’t know.” Ilya frowned. “Have you guys not talked about this? Aren’t you meant to be back in Boston next week?” David queried. “There’s so much we need to sort but we’ve kind of been living in a bubble, just the two of us for the last couple of weeks.” Ilya admitted. Yuna sighed, heavily. It wasn’t going to be easy for Shane to spend so much time away from his alpha while pregnant. It was a really bad idea and could have negative implications for the baby. Especially considering how little time they’d spent together for the entire duration of the pregnancy thus far but if Doctor Brown wasn’t concerned then Yuna wasn’t going to be either. But she would worry about her son. She was allowed that, at least. And since this involved Ilya Roazanov, she was going to worry about him, too. She was still in shock that Shane had hidden this from her and David for so long and she hated that Shane had felt like he couldn’t tell them. It explained a lot. “It's not really surprising considering you haven't known about the baby for long.” David reasoned. “I knew there was something off in Shane's scent the last time I saw him, just before my father died but he shrugged me off. I couldn't identify what was different, I just knew there was something.” “We noticed that, too. Around the same time but he quickly dismissed it.” Yuna smiled. “He's very stubborn.” Ilya smiled. There were so many little things he loved about Shane, the things that made his omega who he was. “I've no idea where he gets it from.” Yuna joked. “I wanted to talk to you. Without Shane here.” Ilya said, looking at Yuna. The three of them headed outside to sit at the outside table since it was a beautiful day. “What about?” Yuna asked. “I don't want to leave Shane. I love him and I love our - baby so much.” Ilya started, part of the reason they'd invited David and Yuna over was so they could tell them the baby's gender so he had to catch himself before he said daughter. “I was thinking that I'm a free agent next season and would want to be closer to him and the baby. But I don't really know how to go about it. Would you be able to help me?” Ilya concluded. Yuna practically jumped up from the table and rushed to pull the Russian alpha into a hug. “Thank you.” Yuna said. “What for?” “Trusting me with this.” “You are Shane's mother and his manager. He always speaks highly of you, of both of you. And you are obsessed with hockey, too. You seemed like the right person to ask.” Ilya shrugged. He was secretly glad Yuna had taken to this so well. His relationship with Shane had never been conventional and there was a lot to unpack but both David and Yuna had been very understanding and seemed to be welcoming him with open arms. Family time could've been very awkward but they accepted Ilya. “I suppose the first question is going to be how are the Metros going to take Shane being pregnant. I can't see it going well.” Yuna admitted. “Neither can he.” Ilya agreed. “I would wait and see what happens with that before making any decisions. There's no point putting plans in place to move to Montreal if things change.” Yuna advised. “That makes sense.” Ilya agreed. “I hate to think of the team that Shane has given everything to abandoning him but I can't see any other possibility.” Yuna sighed. “No, he's given so much but people are going to judge him for my mistake.” Ilya frowned. He hated to think about how people were going to crucify Shane for this when it was a genuine accident. But they had chosen to have this baby because they loved her and they loved each other. “He'll be okay. He always has us and he's got you to help support him, too. It's not going to be easy but he's not alone.” David said. Part of Ilya wanted to be sad that Shane had such wonderful parents and Ilya had been left with his father and brother but he was so grateful that their daughter was going to have such incredible grandparents. “I'm just going to check on Shane.” Ilya said, needing a moment but also wanting to be closer to his omega.

Ilya headed to the bedroom and found Shane sitting up, looking around groggily. “When did I go to bed?” Shane asked. “You fell asleep in the car so I carried you to bed when we got back.” Ilya explained. “You could have woken me.” “You are my omega and you're growing our daughter. I was not going to wake you.” Ilya dismissed. He sat on the bed beside his omega and let Shane lean on his shoulder. Ilya couldn't resist scenting him. They were quickly running out of time and Ilya knew leaving Shane and their daughter to head back to Boston was going to be one of the hardest things he had ever had to do. “I love you, alpha.” Shane mumbled. “I love you, too, my omega. So much. More than you will ever know.” Ilya said, kissing Shane gently. “How long do we have until my parents get here?” Shane checked. “They're already here.” Ilya replied. “How long did I sleep for? We should have gotten back at 3!” Shane exclaimed. “It's 5.45.” Ilya told him. “And you've been making small talk with them for the last half an hour?” Shane asked, sceptically. “Yes.” Ilya chuckled. “I should get up now or I’ll never sleep tonight.” “But you want to go back to sleep.” Ilya guessed. “You’re really comfy.” Shane said. “We need to tell your parents about their granddaughter.” Ilya reminded him. “Let’s go and do it now. The sooner we tell them, the sooner they can leave.” Shane reasoned. Ilya couldn’t help but laugh.

As soon as Shane walked outside, Yuna pulled him into a tight hug. “What was that for?” “We just love you so much and we will always be here to support you.” Yuna smiled. “Thanks, Mom.” “How did your appointment go?” David asked. “Really well.” Shane smiled. He looked at Ilya and nodded slightly. “Baby girl is really healthy.” Ilya added. “GIRL! YES!” Yuna exclaimed, pulling Shane into another tight hug before giving Ilya one, too. David gave Shane a hug and clapped Ilya on the shoulder. Once they’d stepped back, Ilya wrapped an arm around his omega. He wished they could just stay like this forever but reality was creeping back in.

Chapter 10

Leaving the sanctuary of the cottage to head back to Boston was the hardest thing Ilya had ever had to do. It didn’t help that Shane watched him pack with tears in his eyes. “You could come with me?” Ilya offered. “I need to see what the Metros think before we make any more plans.” Shane reminded his alpha. “But I don’t want to leave you.” Ilya wrapped his arms around Shane and pulled his omega into a kiss. “I don’t want you to leave but you have to. We have to carry on as though nothing’s changed.” Shane continued. “Everything’s changed.” Ilya pointed out. “Trust me, I’m aware.” Shane said, wryly. He certainly wouldn’t have planned to have Ilya’s baby while he was still playing and he didn’t think they would have another baby until after he retired, if he was allowed to continue playing professional hockey, but that was not a conversation for now. There was far too much going on already and they hadn’t even had this baby yet. There was no reason for Shane to be thinking about them having another baby. They didn’t even live together yet and Shane was due to give birth in 19 weeks. If baby girl didn’t decide to make an early entrance into the world. “I love you both. So much. Please remember how much I don’t want to leave you, either of you. I would stay here forever with you both, fuck hockey.” Ilya said as he put the last of his bags by the door. Yuna and David were coming over in about half an hour. Yuna had offered to stay with Shane while David drove Ilya to the airport. It was going to be difficult for Shane and they were all worried about how the omega would be on the drive back from the airport knowing his alpha had gone and Shane had to give them credit. They had a point. Logically, he knew Ilya needed to go back to Boston for the season but all his omega would be thinking would be that his alpha was leaving him and that could be dangerous for him and the baby.

While they waited for the omega’s parents to arrive, Ilya and Shane curled up together on the couch. Ilya was laying down with Shane curled up on top of him. Ilya couldn’t stop scenting Shane, they didn’t know when they were going to see each other next but Shane had yet to schedule his next appointment for the baby. Ilya was going to check when Boston were playing Montreal in an away game and would let Shane know to book his appointment for then so Ilya could come with him.

When Yuna and David arrived, Shane couldn’t help it. He promptly burst into tears. Ilya held him tightly. It was hard for the alpha, too but he knew it would be at least ten times worse for Shane. His omega would be making him think that his alpha was leaving him. Even though Iyla didn’t want to, even though he loved Shane more than anything. Had loved him for years now but had always been far too scared to say anything. His body had revealed it before he had. Ilya took off the hoodie he had been wearing all morning and wrapped it around Shane. He kissed his omega one last time before Yuna pried Shane off him and David led him out to the car. Once they were on the road, Ilya allowed his own tears to fall. He couldn’t fall apart in front of Shane, not when it had been so difficult for the omega to let him go. If they had both been crying then Ilya knew he never would’ve walked away. Ilya walked into practice on Monday morning, feeling like a changed man. “Where the fuck have you been?” Marlow asked. “Not a word all summer and he walks in here like nothing’s changed.” Carmichael added. “It’s none of your fucking business.” Ilya snapped. He was feeling incredibly irritable. They’d spoken over facetime every night and messaged each other constantly in the couple of days since Ilya had left the cottage but Ilya missed his omega more than anything and he knew the distance was getting to Shane, too. Especially since the omega didn’t have hockey to distract him like Ilya did. “You come in here stinking like an omega, pissed as hell and it’s none of our fucking business?” Marlow snapped back. “What relevance does me stinking like an omega have?” Ilya asked, warily. “We know you fuck omegas, Roz, that's not news. But with how strong the smell is, you must've spent quite a lot of time with this particular one.” Marlow explained. “You never fuck the same person twice.” Carmichael added. “What would you know? You spend a lot of time in my bedroom or hotel rooms watching me fuck omegas?” Ilya argued. “I thought it might be the Montreal girl.” Marlow shrugged, backing off. They could all tell how unhappy their captain was. There was nothing Ilya wanted more than to tell everyone, to shout it from the rooftops. Shane Hollander was his omega and they were having a baby. His inner alpha was dying to tell someone but they needed to see what the Metros said first. They needed to wait. And it was killing Ilya. It also pissed him off, hence the way he kept snapping at his teammates. It had been the best summer of his life. But it had come to an end as all good things seemed to do. And it was making him feel awful. It was lucky that Ilya already had a reputation for being an asshole.

Somehow, he made it through the day. His teammates kept giving him a wide berth although Ilya could tell that Marlow wanted to talk to him about it. Out of all his teammates, he would probably say Marly was the one he was closest to but he and Shane hadn't discussed telling anyone. Maybe that was a conversation they needed to have.

“Hi.” Shane said upon accepting the facetime request that night. “How did today go?” “It's a good job everyone already thinks I'm an asshole.” Ilya replied. Shane couldn't help but laugh. “That bad?” “No, once we were on the ice everything was great but apparently I smell like an omega so they all had a lot of questions.” Ilya explained. “I didn't tell them anything.” He added quickly. “Do you want to?” Shane asked. “I want to tell everyone that you're my omega and we're having a baby.” Ilya admitted. “I mean, I need to have my meeting first but I'm happy for you to tell them you're my alpha, just without using my name.” Shane reasoned. “I really want to tell Hayden. He's my best friend and he knows about Lily even though I kept denying it. He's not as dumb as he looks.” “Are you sure?” Ilya joked. “Ilya.” Shane warned but the alpha could see that his omega was laughing, too. “I love you so much. If you want to tell him about us, if you think you can trust him then go for it.” “I love you, too.”

Chapter 11

Shane was nervous to tell Hayden, about both Ilya and the baby. He had no idea how his best friend was going to respond and Shane hated not being able to predict the outcome. He was dreading having a meeting with the coach and the higher ups of the Metros so he was starting small. He had no idea how that was going to go so getting Hayden on his side first was important.

“It’s so good to see you again.” Hayden smiled, opening the door wide enough for Shane to slip through. “You, too.” Shane replied. He’d barely spoken to Hayden since the concussion had ended his season. If you counted the phone call during which Ilya had gotten him off. “How are you doing? Returning to the ice soon?” Hayden asked as they made themselves comfy on the couch. “I’m good but I won’t be returning any time soon.” Shane admitted. “You’re not? You haven’t healed yet?” “It’s not that. It’s, uh, something else.” “What’s going on?” “I’m pregnant.” Shane confessed. “Really? How do you feel about it?” Hayden checked. He didn’t want to get excited if Shane was upset about it. “I'm really happy about it.” Shane smiled. “It wasn't planned or anything but…” “That doesn't matter. Me and Jackie didn't plan all four of ours.” Hayden shrugged. “I'm sure you have a lot of questions.” “I mean, yeah, of course I do. But you just tell me whatever you're comfortable telling me. You don't owe me an explanation or any answers.” Hayden said. Shane leaned over and hugged his friend. “Well, as I'm sure you can probably guess, I'm an omega. I'm sorry I never told you but it was difficult enough becoming a professional hockey player, I didn't know who I could trust and the longer I hid it, I was worried you'd be mad at me.” Shane admitted. “Shane, it's none of my business. I'm honoured that you've chosen to tell me. You are my best friend and nothing is going to change that.” Hayden assured. Shane couldn't help the tears that welled in his eyes. He was very lucky to have a friend like Hayden. “You might want to hold onto that thought.” Shane chuckled. “How bad does it fucking get?” “Part of the reason I never told you is because I was told by management that no one could know.” “Fucking alphas.” Hayden scoffed. He and Jackie were both betas. “I don't know how they're going to take the news but I don't imagine it's going to go very well.” “No, I don't either. But let's think about something else for now.” Hayden suggested. “You want to know about my alpha.” Shane guessed. “I mean, it would be nice. I've been under the assumption you've been seeing someone called Lily for the last few years.” Hayden laughed. “That's him. I mean, his name isn't Lily but it was too dangerous to put his real name in my phone in case someone else saw it.” Shane explained. “You like male alphas.” Hayden said. It was the closest thing to a question as he was going to allow himself to get. “I don't know for certain.” Shane admitted. “You're really pushing the ‘I'm not going to ask you any questions’ thing.” Hayden warned. “I've only ever been with him.” “Shit. Love at first sight.” “No, no. It was casual. Until November. We would only meet up when we were in the same place at the same time but were free to see other people as well. He did. I didn't.” “Typical alpha.” Hayden rolled his eyes. “We weren't exclusive. We couldn't be. Even now it's a really bad idea. But I fell in love with him and he loves me too. And now we're having a baby.” Shane smiled. Hayden had known for a while how Shane truly felt about ‘Lily,’ there was no way he hadn't fallen in love no matter how much he tried to deny it. “I’m glad you’ve finally admitted it to yourself.” “What do you mean?” “All the times I mentioned Lily and you denied his very existence. Yet you always went to meet up and you would get the stupidest fucking grin on your face whenever you got a message from him. I knew you were gone on him at least a year ago.” Hayden laughed. “Was it that obvious?” Shane groaned. “To me? Yes. But I know you better than anyone else. I don’t think anyone else has thought twice about it.” Hayden said. Shane was a little relieved that not everyone knew about Lily. Hayden was a little more observant than the others, anyway. “Can I ask who Lily is? Is that allowed?” “You can’t guess?” Shane asked. “What do you mean?” “When do I go and see him?” Shane continued. “When we’re in Boston.” Hayden answered. “So…” Shane coaxed. “Don’t tell me you’re fucking a Raider.” Hayden requested. Shane had the decency to look sheepish. “As long as it’s not Rozanov then I’m sure we can get past it.” Hayden added. Shane couldn’t help the laugh that escaped. “Are you fucking kidding me? Ilya fucking Rozanov? Of all the alphas on the Raiders it had to be the worst one?” “I love him.” Shane stated, simply. “You must. To be with him. This isn’t going to go down well.” Hayden warned. “I know but he’s it for me. I love him and he loves me. We both love our baby. And he’s already won my parents over.” Shane explained. “I can’t believe I’m going to have to be friendly to Rozanov.” Hayden frowned. Shane really wanted to laugh at his best friend’s obvious discomfort but he was only too grateful over how calm the beta was being. Not everyone was going to be this calm but they had gotten quite lucky so far. Their luck was rapidly running out and Shane had a meeting with the Metros management next week so he was about to test how understanding everyone had been. “Ilya.” Shane corrected. “Ilya.” Hayden sighed. “Oh, I’m so fucking stupid! Ilya. Lily. You’re lucky no one guessed that. It’s quite obvious now that I think about it. “Good job I’m surrounded by alphas who think I’m also an alpha. It helps that everyone has suffered multiple concussions and it’s made everyone dumber.” Shane reasoned. “Hey!” Hayden protested. Shane couldn’t help but laugh. Having Hayden by his side was going to make things a lot easier on him considering he didn’t have his alpha by his side right now.

Chapter 12

If Shane had thought he was nervous when he went to see Doctor Brown for the first time after finding out he was pregnant, well, it was nothing compared to how he felt going into his meeting with Coach Theriault and the Metros management. “Hollander, what’s going on?” Theriault asked. “I needed to talk to you all about something.” Shane admitted. He was pushing it by leaving it until he was 24 weeks pregnant to tell his team but he was so scared that he had put it off for as long as possible. It certainly helped that Hayden knew and had been so supportive but Shane knew this meeting wasn’t going to go the same way telling his best friend had gone. Everyone was going to be pissed with him. “We’re all ears.” The Metros manager, Liam Smith said. “I’m pregnant.” Shane said. The room was silent, you could have heard a pin drop. “Please tell me this is a joke.” Theriault requested. “I’m not joking. I wouldn’t joke about something like this.” Shane frowned. He took the copy of his sonogram out of his wallet and handed it over. “I’m 24 weeks along now but I didn’t know I was pregnant until I ended up in the hospital with a concussion and fractured collarbone.” “You’ve known for two months and are only telling us now?” Smith asked, his voice was barely above a whisper. “Yes.” Shane whispered. “You’re off the team.” Theriault stated. “What?” “He’s right. We can’t have an unmated pregnant omega as the captain. It was bad enough having an omega as captain but this is the final straw.” Smith agreed. Shane had known that this meeting was unlikely to go well but he hadn’t thought it would go quite this badly. He had given everything for the Metros. No one knew he was an omega (except Ilya), he’d always been on the strongest suppressants and birth control, he had one heat a year even though it was recommended to have two to three, and all it took for them to abandon him was one slip up? Shane couldn’t help the tears that fell. Shane lived and breathed hockey. He did one thing for himself and suddenly he was the bad guy? “You can go to the locker room and tell everyone why their captain is abandoning them.” Theriault added. “I’m not abandoning them!” Shane exclaimed. “You’re kicking me out, that’s not the same thing.” “How do you think they’re going to feel when they find out you’re an omega? I think they’re going to be pretty hurt. They’re going to feel betrayed. You could have easily avoided this. Either by not sleeping around or by getting rid of the baby. You chose the baby. The Metros are not choosing you.” Smith concluded before standing up and leaving the meeting room. It wasn’t long before Theriault followed him out of the room, sending a scathing look at Shane as he did so. It really hurt. Shane didn’t sleep around and it was none of their business either way.

Shane didn’t want to go and tell the team. It was none of their business. He didn’t have to tell them that he was an omega or that he was pregnant but he felt like he owed them an explanation at least. They had followed and supported him since he’d joined the team. At least Hayden would be there when he told them. That might help to soften the blow but he knew Smith was right. They were going to be pissed. “Captaine!” JJ shouted as Shane walked over to the edge of the ice. “Are you not joining us today?” Mitty asked. Shane sighed heavily and could feel the tears threatening to fall. “No. And I won’t be joining you in future either.” Shane said. “What do you mean?” Hayden asked, alarmed. “I don’t play for the Metros anymore. I, uh, I have something personal to tell you all.” Shane stumbled. The entire team had all gathered around him and Shane wanted to throw up partly from the nerves, partly because of the baby. “It’s not still your collarbone, right?” Koch checked. “No. It’s kind of related to that but no, I’m doing better.” Shane said with a wry smile. “Shane, what’s going on?” JJ queried. “I’m an omega.” Shane admitted. “You kind of need to know that for this next bit to make sense.” “You’re…” Drapeau trailed off. “And I’m pregnant.” Shane stated. It seemed easier to just rip the bandaid off and get it over with. Shane saw at least four members of the team looked at him with disgust in their eyes before they just skated away without a word. He didn’t know if that was better or worse than them saying something horrible to him. “Are you fucking kidding me!?” JJ exclaimed. “No.” “Why would you keep that from us?” Mitty asked, Shane thought he looked a little hurt. “The omega thing or the baby?” Shane checked. “Mostly the omega thing but both!” JJ shouted. “I can’t believe you. I can’t… I just… Goodbye.” JJ followed the other Metros that had already left.

Somehow, Shane managed to field questions from the other members of the team before they all headed back out on the ice. It had been very hostile and Shane didn’t know how he would’ve made it through without Hayden there but thankfully, he didn’t have to find out. The omega would be lying if he said he wasn’t worried about the Metros leaking the news, both of his designation and the baby. The world was going to find out at some point and Shane was terrified of that day coming but surely it couldn’t possibly be any worse than watching the people he thought were like a family to him turning their backs on him.

Once he’d emptied out his locker and put all his things in his car, Shane got in the driver’s seat and called Ilya. “Hey, how did it go?” Ilya asked with a smile. Shane immediately crumbled and burst into tears. “That bad?” “They kicked me off the team.” Shane sobbed. “They did what?” Ilya asked in a low voice, all traces of his smile gone. “I’m no longer a Metro.” Shane rephrased. “Those bastards.” Ilya seethed. “We knew it wasn’t going to go well.” “Not the point. How fucking dare they?” “I wish you were here right now.” Shane cried. “I wish I was there with you, too. Why don’t you call your mom to come and get you? I’m worried about you driving yourself home and we’ll talk more when you get there.” “Okay.” Shane said. “I love you.” “I love you, too. So much.” Ilya assured as Shane hung up. The Russian alpha immediately looked up flights to Montreal. His omega needed him right now and he was going to be there.

Three hours after hanging up from the call with Ilya, there was a knock on his door. Shane had no idea who it could be. Part of him hoped that it would be one of his ‘friends’ but he knew that was very unlikely. Still, he was pleasantly surprised when he opened the door to find his alpha standing there. “You’re here.” Shane whimpered. Ilya walked into the apartment and opened his arms. Shane immediately fell into the embrace and started sobbing. “Of course I’m here. You needed me.”

Chapter 13

There had been an announcement last week. Shane Hollander and the Montreal Metros had parted ways. It had also been announced that Shane Hollander would be missing the entire 2017-2018 season for health reasons. Obviously, Ilya knew the real reason but the rest of the Raiders and anyone else who followed MLH was climbing the walls trying to figure out what had happened. What could possibly have gone so wrong that the Metros booted Shane off the team?

“This is fucking weird.” Marlow commented as Ilya and the rest of the Raiders got ready for their match against Montreal. “What is?” Ilya checked. “Playing a game against Montreal without Hollander. Weird as fuck that they let him go with so little comment either. I wonder what happened.” Marlow explained. “Yeah, why would they get rid of their star captain? Something’s dodgy.” Carmichael added. “Who knows?” Ilya said. “You know something.” Marlow said, accusingly. “Me?” “You’ve been acting weird ever since we got back from summer but you’ve been even worse ever since we got here.” Marlow continued. “Maybe.” Ilya shrugged. He’d spent every minute his team weren’t on the ice with Shane at his apartment. “We’re not stupid, you know?” Carmichael said. “Could’ve fooled me.” Ilya retorted. “Whatever.” Carmichael frowned. Ilya felt a little bad, but he’d been hiding this for so long. Had been hiding himself from his teammates for so long that he didn’t know how to come right out and tell them about Shane and the baby. He didn’t want any distractions prior to the game so he resolved to invite them all to a team meeting in his hotel room. He was supposed to be meeting Shane afterwards but considering how far along Shane was now, they were going to be announcing the fact they were having a baby soon and Ilya knew his teammates would be furious if that was the way they found out.

It was a great game for the Raiders, especially Ilya who was furious on his omega’s behalf. The Metros didn’t even manage to score once, Ilya scored a hat trick and then three of his teammates also managed to score. Ilya had lots of fun legally checking the Metros players, although he left Pike alone. Ilya was glad that even though the rest of the team had been assholes about it, Shane still had his best friend to support him. “Team meeting, my room. As soon as we get back to hotel.” Ilya shouted above the noise in the locker room. Everyone stopped and listened, as they usually did when Ilya had something to say. He was a good captain, the kind that you wanted on your side and didn’t want to play against. They knew next to nothing about him as a person, though. That was the way Ilya liked it and it was going to be difficult for him to open up to them but at the same time, he couldn’t wait to tell everyone that he was going to be a papa.

They all made it back to the hotel in record time and started filing into the room Ilya was sharing with Marlow. “I thought you’d be going to see your Montreal girl tonight.” Marlow remarked while they were still waiting for some of the others. They were only waiting on a couple of others now. “Maybe this has something to do with that.” Ilya replied. “But you never tell us anything about your personal life. Even I don’t know and I’m your closest friend on the team.” Marlow continued. “Da, and it’s time to change that.” Ilya offered with a small smile.

Once everyone was there, Ilya stood up. “I have something important to tell all of you and I wanted you to hear it from me.” Ilya announced. “Hear it from you? There’s a chance we could hear it from someone else?” Carmichael asked. “Da. Is big news.” Ilya said. “Go on then.” Marlow encouraged. “There’s a few parts to this but the first part is, I have omega.” Ilya began. “Took you fucking long enough.” Marlow laughed. “Shut your face, Marly.” Ilya snapped. “You’ve been seeing this Montreal girl for how long? It’s been years and you’re finally together. You’re lucky she waited this long and didn’t find someone else.” Carmichael added. Ilya couldn’t help the growl that slipped out at the thought of Shane being with someone else. The Rose thing had been bad enough, but if Shane had actually been with another alpha, Ilya didn’t know how he would’ve coped. Not very well. “He didn’t need to. No one better than me.” Ilya said. “He?” Connors checked. “Yes, he. Any problems?” Ilyaa dared. Everyone shook their heads. “He’s your Montreal girl.” Marlow connected. “Well done.” Ilya said. “Yes, he is. We’ve been together since the summer but as you all know, have been sleeping together for a lot longer.” “So you’re dating a male omega, why do you need to tell us?” Carmichael asked. Ilya was pleasantly surprised that no one seemed to give a shit. He wondered how that was going to change when he told them that his omega was Shane Hollander. “He’s pregnant. 26 weeks.” Ilya revealed. “Congratulations.” Desjourneys offered. Ilya had forgotten that his coach was sitting in the corner, he’d been very quiet while the rest of the team were very vocal about their opinions. “26!” Marlow exclaimed. “You kept that quiet!” “We didn’t know. Not to start with. He was 15 weeks when he found out. 17 weeks when he told me.” Ilya explained. “No wonder you didn’t want to come back to Boston.” Marlow said, placing a hand on Ilya’s shoulder. “No. Was very difficult to leave them both.” Ilya agreed, a small smile crossing his face. “What’s his name?” Sebbin asked. “When do we get to meet him?” Kane added. “You already know him.” Ilya admitted. This was going to be the most difficult part of telling his team. He had known they would be happy for him about having an omega and becoming a papa but he expected that to all change the minute he told them about Shane. It was understandable, but that wouldn’t make it any easier. “We do?” Marlow looked as confused as the rest of the team. “It’s Shane.” Ilya confessed. You could’ve heard a pin drop, the room was that silent. “Hollander?” Carmichael checked. “How many fucking Shane’s do you think Roz knows?” Marlow asked. “I don’t know!” Carmichael defended. “Wait, is that why they kicked him off the Metros? Because he’s pregnant?” Marlow turned to Ilya again. “Da.” Ilya replied. “That’s fucked up!” Varkov exclaimed. “I know.” Ilya agreed. “No wonder you were pissed tonight.” Marlow chuckled. “Hopefully, they learned a valuable lesson tonight. Don’t chuck your star player just because he’s pregnant.” Carmichael commented. “Especially when his alpha plays for a rival team.” Connors laughed. Ilya couldn’t quite believe it. He’d expected everyone to be pissed with him, not the Metros being pissed with Shane. “The Metros better be ready the next time we play them. They’ve not just got a pissed off Roz on their hands now.” Marlow said. “Leave Pike alone. He’s been a good friend to Shane. He’s the only one, though.” Ilya said. “But the rest are fair game?” Carmichael checked. “Da.” “Fuck yes!” Marlow cheered. Ilya couldn’t help but laugh as his teammates got up to pull him into a group hug. This could have gone so much worse and he was very grateful that everyone was being so supportive instead. It made his heart break for Shane, who should’ve had the same reaction. “Now you all know, can I go and see Shane?" Ilya asked. “Yes, go!” Marlow shouted. “Give him our best.” Desjourneys smiled. Ilya grabbed the bag he had already packed to spend the night with Shane and headed out of the door with a big smile on his face. When Ilya got to his omega’s apartment, he used his key to open the door. He’d not told Shane what time to expect him and was pleasantly surprised to find the omega curled up asleep on the couch with highlights of the game playing on the TV. This meant Shane must have watched the match. Ilya hoped his omega wouldn’t be pissed at him for how he had played against the Metros. Shane was slowly coming around to the fact that even though he considered them to be his friends and practically family, Pike was the only one who agreed and it broke Ilya’s heart every time he thought about it.

Shane looked so comfortable, laying on his side curled around his bump with a protective hand resting on their daughter. Ilya couldn't resist taking a photo before grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch and tucking Shane up. Ilya didn't want to wake Shane but even this gentle movement was enough for Shane to stir. “Ilya?” Shane slurred, voice heavy with sleep. “Of course.” Ilya replied, pressing a kiss to Shane’s forehead. “How did it go?” Shane asked, sitting up slowly. “Really well. I'm sorry.” Ilya replied. “Why are you sorry?” “Because your team should've reacted the same way mine did.” Ilya reasoned. “That's their fault. Not yours.” Shane assured as Ilya sat down next to him. Shane curled up against his alpha’s side and Ilya wrapped an arm around him, his hand joining Shane’s on his bump. “I'm still fucking pissed.” Ilya stated. “I got that from the way you were playing.” Shane laughed. “I appreciate you leaving Hayden alone. You can be pissed at everyone else.” “The Raiders are pissed, too. The Metros better be ready for the next time we play them because it's not just me who's going to be on the warpath.” Ilya warned. “Part of me wants to warn them but after how horrible they were to me about the baby, they can find out the hard way.” Shane shrugged. “I love you.” Ilya smiled. “I love you, too.”

Chapter 14

Shane was nervous about today. Not because they were going to see their baby girl again but because the Raiders were in town again to play against Montreal which meant they wanted to meet Shane ‘officially’, not as Hollander the hockey player but as Shane, Ilya’s omega. Apparently none of them had made any comments about the fact that he was an omega which was better than the Metros had managed. Shane was slightly looking forward to watching today's game. He couldn’t wait to watch the Raiders annihilate the Metros. It was what they deserved for the way that had treated Shane after finding out about the baby. Shane wished that he would be able to see the looks on their faces when they found out that Ilya Rozanov was his alpha and the baby’s other father but that would mean being in the same room as them.

“Today is going to be great.” Ilya assured him as they left the omega’s apartment and headed to see Doctor Brown. Ilya threaded their fingers together. Part of Shane wanted to drop his hand, anyone could see them right here but they would be announcing that they were together and expecting a baby in a couple of weeks, when Shane hit 30 weeks along so did two extra weeks really matter? “I know.” Shane sighed. He just felt so emotional all the time. He was ready to burst into tears at the drop of a hat. Shane had not been prepared in the slightest to find out he was pregnant and he would never regret choosing to keep their baby but he was allowed to regret the fact that they hadn’t been careful enough that he’d ended up pregnant. It had completely changed his life. For all Shane knew, he was never going to play hockey ever again now. It had been nearly 6 weeks since the Metros had kicked him off the team and no one had reached out to him. Sure, he was currently taking the year off due to undisclosed health issues but Shane had hoped that a team might get in touch and want to sign him. He was still one of the best players in the league. It made him wonder what the Metros had been saying about him. “Baby girl is good, you’re finally in the third trimester. Not going to be long until we’re holding her in our arms.” Ilya beamed. Shane wished he could be as excited as his alpha but nothing had changed for Ilya. Shane’s entire life had been turned upside down. It was difficult to be excited when his entire future was uncertain. Baby girl was affecting his ability to sleep, she loved kicking him at all hours and it didn’t help that he and Ilya were separated so often, although it was a little easier now that the Raiders knew about both Shane and the baby. They had all been so supportive and part of Shane was looking forward to seeing them. The other part of him was understandably terrified.

“How are you both doing today?” Doctor Brown asked. “Good.” Ilya smiled. “I’m okay.” Shane said. Ilya wished there was something he could do to make Shane feel better but he knew his omega was going to be anxious until the day was over. That wasn’t going to change even though, logically, Shane knew everything was going to be fine. If none of the Raiders had kicked up a fuss when Ilya had told them about him and the baby then there was no reason why they would start as soon as they met Shane. The omega was still feeling a little bitter that Ilya’s teammates had taken it better than his had. “Anything you want to talk about?” Doctor Brown offered. “I’m just nervous about something that’s happening later.” Shane replied. He didn’t really want to start talking about it. It was bad enough that he was keeping it inside, although he and Ilya had discussed it at length when the alpha’s teammates had asked to meet him officially. Not like they didn’t already know him but the context was different this time. “Have you found your anxiety has been increased during your pregnancy?" Doctor Brown inquired. Shane nodded. “That’s understandable.” “There’s been a lot going on.” Ilya pointed out. Shane just sat there quietly, he didn’t want to cry. It felt like that was all he was doing lately. He loved their daughter so much but he couldn’t wait until he was no longer pregnant. The pregnancy was messing with his head and he knew it was going to continue after she was born, post-partum was apparently no joke and Shane was dreading it. “I just want to see our daughter and make sure she’s okay.” Shane stated. “That we can do.” Doctor Brown smiled.

Baby girl was in a good mood and they got to see and feel her kicking the omega while Doctor Brown was checking her over. Both Shane and Ilya knew that their daughter was doing well, she loved to assault Shane’s internal organs so neither of them had been worried per say, but having Doctor Brown confirm that she was doing great was still a relief to the couple. Suspecting and knowing for definite were two different things. Ilya couldn’t wait to show the Raiders the latest scan of their daughter. Part of Shane wanted to go and watch the Raiders/Metros game in person. He couldn’t wait to see how the Raiders played tonight but he knew it was going to be dirty. Besides, if he went to the game, everyone would know he was pregnant because at 28 weeks, he had a very pronounced bump. Both he and Ilya were obsessed with resting their hands on it and feeling their daughter kick them.

“I love you both so much.” Ilya smiled, kissing Shane before dropping to his knees to place a kiss on his omega’s bump. “We love you, too.” Shane sighed, pulling his alpha to his feet so he could kiss him again. “Now go and win for me.” “If only the Metros fans could hear you now.” Ilya laughed. “I’m sure everyone will have some choice words for me when we announce the baby in a couple of weeks.” “Maybe, but you have me and the Raiders. You have your parents and Hayden. Who cares what anyone else thinks?” “I know I shouldn’t but it still gets to me. What if no one signs me ever again? I love you and I love our daughter but I can’t imagine my life without hockey.” Shane frowned. “Someone will.” Ilya assured him. Ilya was also a little surprised that no one had approached Shane to offer him a spot on their team yet but considering the mysterious circumstances in which he’d parted with the Metros as well as the unknown health issue he was taking an entire season off for, he guessed it was understandable. “Hey, Roz, is everything okay?” Desjourneys asked as the captain finally arrived just in time. “Just worried about Shane.” Ilya admitted. It was still a little strange to him, being able to confide in his team like this but he loved how they had all rallied around him and Shane and were determined to support both of them. “Do you want to talk about it? I know everyone is very excited to meet him ‘officially’ as your omega and not just an opponent.” Desjourneys offered. “He’s worried that he’ll never play hockey professionally again. No one has contacted him to see if he wants to join their team. I have to admit I’m a little surprised but I guess the fact that people don’t know the reason why he and the Metros parted ways and the fact that he’s sitting out the season for an unknown health issue doesn’t help.” Ilya explained. “That will be the reason, yeah. He wants to return after the baby is born?” Desjourneys checked. “Shane really wants to return. He knows it will be a lot of work but he’s not the stay at home omega type.” Ilya smiled. If he wanted someone like that then he would never have prepositioned the Canadian omega in the first place. Not that he had known Shane was an omega until he’d kissed him for the first time all those years ago in a hotel room, room 1410. That felt like a different life. “Like I said, we can’t wait to meet him.” Desjourneys repeated with an odd look on his face. Ilya wasn’t going to try and decipher it right now. He had far too much on his mind. Shane had expected to feel a little different watching this game. He should have felt bad for the Montreal players. He had warned Hayden but asked him not to say anything to the rest of the team. Hayden was the only one who knew why the Raiders were so pissed with them. More than once Shane had to watch a Raider get dragged to the penalty box by a ref but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He shouldn’t have enjoyed watching his former teammates getting hurt but they had hurt him. The Metros were absolutely destroyed by the Raiders again and Shane knew they had absolutely no hope of making it to the playoffs this year. Or any year, really. Shane was glad to be rid of them but he would be lying if he said it didn’t hurt. What if he never got to play hockey again? He would throw himself into raising his and Ilya’s daughter, of course but he wanted more from his life than that.

Once the game was over, Shane could feel his anxiety ramping up the closer it got to the time the Raiders were supposed to be arriving. He didn’t want to be a mess but Ilya was probably expecting it. That was the only reason Shane could think of as to why his alpha arrived at his apartment a good half an hour before the rest of the team despite being the captain, being the one all the media would want to talk to. Knowing Ilya, the Russian alpha had decided to skip talking to the media. Probably a good idea considering they would want to know what Montreal had done to offend the Raiders. Ilya wanted everyone to know how awful the Metros were. He didn’t need asking about it or he would go on to rant, even without telling the full truth.

Ilya wrapped his omega in a tight hug, knowing they were limited for time before his teammates arrived. “Everyone is so excited to meet you properly.” Ilya said, pulling back from the hug to kiss Shane gently. Shane had to pull away, keeping it chaste. He knew what they were both like at the best of times but considering Shane was pregnant and his hormones were all over the place, it didn’t take much to get him riled up these days. “There’s so many of them. I wish we’d started small with two or three instead of inviting the entire team over." Shane admitted. It was a bit late for that now.

When the buzzer rang, Ilya was the one to answer the door. Technically, this was Shane’s place but considering the omega mainly stayed here whenever he spent the night with the Russian alpha, he had always considered it to be their place. There were still quite a few conversations that Shane and Ilya needed to have but while everything was still up in the air, they’d just not gotten around to it yet. Although they were rapidly running out of time.

“Hollander! It’s so good to see you!” Marlow exclaimed, clapping a hand to the omega’s shoulder. Shane smiled shyly, it was a kind greeting but it was very loud. The rest of the Raiders followed suit, bright smiles on their faces as Ilya directed them to the kitchen so they could get drinks. He knew Shane would want to play host but Ilya didn’t want his omega up and about on his feet for any longer than necessary. The alpha wanted Shane to rest as much as possible.

They passed a very enjoyable evening. Shane knew worrying about how things were going to go had been unnecessary considering how well they had all taken the news that he was an omega and Ilya was his alpha. All of the Raiders were quite happy to talk to him and tell him embarrassing stories about Ilya. Shane enjoyed not having to hide. All of these people meant so much to Ilya and Shane could see how much they admired their captain. He loved being tucked against Ilya’s side as they talked and was sure the team would be able to see how much he loved Ilya. They also asked a lot of questions about both their relationship and the baby. Shane loved it and he couldn’t wait to spend time with all of them again soon.

Once everyone was gone, Ilya led his omega through to the bedroom, much to Shane’s protest. The omega had wanted to tidy up after their guests first but he supposed that could wait.

Chapter 15

Ilya had come to Ottawa to join Shane at his cottage for the weekend. Tomorrow they would be announcing that Shane was pregnant but tonight belonged to them. Their last night in anonymity and Shane wanted to make the most of it. There was going to be a media frenzy and he was terrified of the way everyone would react to the news of him being an omega, Ilya being his alpha and the fact that they were having a baby together. No one had a clue how it was going to go.

“Let’s not think about that for tonight.” Ilya suggested. “You have something else to think about?” Shane asked. He knew exactly what his alpha was angling for and considering how much time they spent apart, Shane was more than happy to play along. “Da.” Ilya smirked, pressing their lips together. The kiss started out innocent enough but this was Shane and Ilya, after all. It very quickly grew more heated. “Do you have any idea how gorgeous you look?” “Why don’t you tell me?” Shane replied as Ilya took his hand and led him to the bedroom. Once they got there, Ilya sat down on the bed and pulled Shane into his lap. Shane could already feel the slick he was leaking. It had been too long since he’d last had Ilya inside him and he knew he wasn’t going to last tonight but he could tell his alpha was faring the same. It was still going to be good. “I can’t wait for everyone to know you’re mine. They’ll see you pregnant with our child and know I’m the only one who gets to have you like this.” Ilya rambled. “Alpha…” Shane trailed off as Ilya moved his hands to Shane’s ass and dipped them below the waistband. Ilya wasted no time in pressing one of his fingers against Shane’s entrance. It welcomed him immediately.

Ilya broke the kiss so they could start undressing. Once they were completely naked, he paused for a moment to just take in the sight of his omega. He loved seeing Shane like this, all round with his child. He hoped one day Shane would be happy to expand their family again but he hoped Shane could return to hockey and win at least another Cup before that happened. Ilya got back on the bed and slipped behind Shane, who was laying on his side. One thing Ilya missed was having his omega on his back as Ilya loomed above him but it was dangerous for the baby at this stage of the pregnancy so they would make do having sex in other positions. Ilya pressed his finger back inside Shane, quickly following it with two more. He didn’t need Shane to touch him at all, the alpha was already at full hardness and couldn’t wait to sink inside his omega.

Shane couldn’t help the moan he let out as Ilya finally pressed his dick inside. The omega could already feel his alpha’s knot beginning to expand and they had only just started. Ilya slowly started to thrust in and out, making sure the angle was just right for him to hit Shane’s prostate on every thrust. The omega felt like he was just along for the ride at this point. He loved feeling Ilya plastered along his back as he forced his knot inside.

As anticipated, neither of them lasted longer than five minutes but they didn’t care. Ilya came with Shane's name on his lips and the omega couldn’t help but let out a whiny “Alpha!” as Ilya’s knot locked them together and he could feel the alpha coming inside him. That had to be one of the best parts of already being pregnant. It didn’t matter if Ilya came inside him. “I love you so much.” Ilya panted. “I love you, too.” “How are you feeling?” Yuna asked. Ilya and Shane would be posting a joint statement to their Instagram announcing that they were together and that Shane was pregnant. It was scheduled for about 1pm. They had a couple of hours to kill before then but Shane needed the additional support of being surrounded by everyone he loved. Hence why Yuna, David and Hayden had come to join the couple at the cottage. Shane just needed to be away from everyone for a while and his cottage had seemed like the best place to hide. Jackie was also here with Ruby, Emma, Arthur and Amber and Shane was very grateful for both the distraction that his best friend’s children provided and the practice that it gave him. It was only 10 weeks until his due date and Shane was more than ready to have this baby and get it over with. Jackie had been a great support to him over the last few weeks as had, surprisingly, some of the Raiders WAGs. Shane hadn’t expected his alpha’s teammates to rally around him like they had but he was always grateful for the additional support considering besides Hayden, none of it was coming from Montreal. Shane didn’t know if he would ever be over that betrayal. “Nervous.” Shane said. “Although I think that’s just my default emotion these days. The pregnancy has just skyrocketed my anxiety.” “What do you mean?” Ilya checked. Shane couldn’t help but chuckle. His alpha still had difficulty understanding English sayings sometimes. “It’s through the roof, it’s been really high.” Shane explained. Ilya moved closer to his omega and wrapped Shane in his arms. “We’re all here for you, okay? Your parents are here, your alpha is here, your best friend is here. The Raiders have your back. Rose Landry does, too.” Ilya assured. Shane couldn’t resist giving his alpha a quick kiss. None of this had happened in the way he would have planned it but Shane couldn’t bring himself to be upset about that. Sure, he wished the future was less uncertain but hopefully someone would want to sign him now that they knew his ‘health issue’ was temporary. Although a lot of omegas chose to stay home and have more children after the first one, Shane had never been a typical omega and he wasn’t going to start now.

Shane had wanted to turn his phone off when his agent was supposed to be uploading the post but the other part of Shane wanted to know what people were saying. He hated feeling like he’d been so cut off from the world. He had seen people speculating why he was missing the entire season but funnily enough, no one had guessed it was because he was actually an omega and had been knocked up. Shane wasn’t an idiot. He knew that the world of professional sports was very male alpha dominated and a lot of people were going to be unhappy but there was nothing anyone could do to change it.

Ilya didn’t want his omega to see the inevitable horrible comments but Shane wanted to know what people were saying about him. Ilya could understand because he was exactly the same but it was going to be an unpleasant afternoon. To take their minds off everything, Ilya and David made lunch for everyone and Shane helped Hayden and Jackie to get all of the kids ready for lunch. Ilya loved watching his omega with the Pike children. He knew Shane was going to be the most amazing dad, no matter how much this baby had come as a shock to them both.

Lunch was pleasant despite the knowledge that the world now knew about Shane, Ilya and their baby. Sure, it was hanging over their heads and it muted the mood but the Pike children were completely oblivious to this and this meant that there was no time for anyone else to dwell on it considering what a handful the twins were. Shane found himself laughing and breathing a lot easier than he would have been had he not invited the most important people in his life into his little bubble. But they couldn’t ignore it forever.

“How bad is it?” Shane checked. “It’s not great in places.” Yuna admitted. “But it could be a lot worse.” Hayden added. “Really?” Shane asked. “Lots of people are pis- unhappy with the Metros. They’ve figured out you got kicked off the team because of the pregnancy.” Hayden explained, changing the word he was going to use when his wife glared at him. “The Raiders have all rallied around you on their personal pages.” Ilya added. Shane felt grateful to his alpha’s team. It was still crazy to think they had been so supportive and the Metros hadn’t. Shane had known that this was going to shock a lot of people but from what Ilya, Yuna and Hayden were showing him (and he was sure they were deliberately only showing him the good stuff) there were a lot of people who supported him and Ilya. There were some people that had apparently suspected it for years, others that were completely blindsided by it but that was bound to happen. “It’s not nearly as bad as it could have been.” Yuna smiled. Ilya just wrapped an arm around his omega’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Ew!” Ruby and Emma exclaimed in unison. Everyone burst out laughing. It had been a good day.

Chapter 16

Ilya had invited Shane to join him for the next few weeks. It wouldn’t be that long until baby girl was making her appearance but since everyone knew Shane was his omega and they were having a baby, Ilya couldn’t think of any reason why he shouldn’t have his omega in the stands. Shane had been a little reluctant at the thought of being that public but then decided he didn’t care. He loved Ilya and Ilya loved him. They both loved their daughter, why shouldn't they get to show off just because their relationship was a little more unconventional than most?

Now that he was 32 weeks along, Shane was finding it more and more difficult to move around. Baby girl had gotten so big and it seemed crazy to Shane that even though his stomach already looked and felt like it was at capacity, there was still 8 weeks left of his pregnancy. It had just been flying by, although it helped that he hadn’t known about her until he was 14 weeks along.

Shane had decided to watch Ilya practice today. He was going stir crazy being shut up in the alpha’s house. Thankfully, he knew where he was going from the many times they had played against Boston at home. It was strange being here, not as a Metro. Shane found he didn’t mind it all that much. “Hollander! Roz told us you’d be joining us today.” Coach Desjourneys smiled as he found Shane wandering around the arena. “Yes, hello.” Shane said with a small smile of his own. “I was wondering if you had a minute? Before you go and find our captain?” Desjourneys asked. “Yes, of course.” Shane replied, waddling to follow the man to his office. Shane was a little puzzled. He had no idea what this was about. “Take a seat.” Desjourneys offered. Shane happily did so, unable to stand for long periods of time. “What can I do for you?” Shane inquired. “Roz mentioned that you want to return to hockey after having the baby.” Desjourneys started. “Yes, that is the plan. I know my fitness levels are going to be shot to hell but I’ve tried to keep active as much as she will allow me.” Shane explained, rubbing a hand over his bump. Baby girl was kicking him quite a lot right now, if she didn’t end up becoming a professional athlete, Shane would be very surprised. She was very active and her kicks were actually starting to hurt. “You’ve got to start somewhere. Having a baby is no easy task.” Desjourneys said, thinking about his own mate and children. “What does this have to do with anything?” “I wanted to offer you a place here. Boston could always do with another great player like Shane Hollander. I know a lot of teams were shocked by the multiple revelations of you being an omega in the first place, then by the baby and the relationship with Roz. Sure, we were a little taken aback, who wouldn’t be? But no one here thinks any less of you. You were still the number two draft pick. You were rookie of the year. You led Montreal to back to back Cups. I haven’t told Roz yet but I spoke to the rest of the team and they would all love to have you. We all saw how well you and Roz worked together on the same line at the All-Star game back in January. We want that energy here.” Desjourneys continued. Shane was in shock. Boston were offering him a place on their team? He could return to hockey after having their baby girl? Shane had been beginning to think no one would ever let him play professionally ever again. “Really?” Shane checked, hardly daring to believe it. “Really. I have a contract that I can send to your agent and manager right now. I just wanted to see if you were interested first.” Desjourneys assured him. Shane couldn’t help bursting into tears. “Thank you. I would love to.” Shane sniffled. “I’ll get that all sent over now. I look forward to welcoming you officially after you have your daughter. I’ll let you tell Roz the good news.” Desjourneys smiled. “Thank you again.” Shane said, returning the smile his new coach gave him. He couldn’t believe it. He was going to get to play again. He had a team to return to. Sure, it wasn’t the one he’d been expecting but he and Ilya would be playing on the same team. They could live together properly. The omega knew his parents would be a little disappointed that Shane would be living that much further away from them but this made so much sense for everything. Ilya still had a year left with Boston but if he and Shane were both playing for them then the omega couldn’t see why he or his alpha would get traded any time soon. The Raiders were going to be a formidable team with both Ilya and Shane on the same line.

Ilya was getting a little worried, Shane had been planning on joining him at practice today. Even though the omega could only watch from the stands, Ilya was beginning to wonder where his omega had gotten to. Surely he hadn’t got lost. Shane had been here before and knew his way around. The rest of the team were giving him knowing looks and Ilya had no idea what they meant. Finally, Shane arrived and sat down with the brightest smile on his face. “Well?” Marlow called. “Well, what?” Ilya asked, skating over to Shane who was right at the edge of the boards. “Desjourneys asked me if I want to join the Raiders after our baby girl is born.” Shane smiled. “Really?” Ilya asked. “I said I want to.” Shane beamed. “We’re going to play on the same team?” Ilya checked. “We are.” Shane confirmed. “Yes!” Carmichael exclaimed. “Fuck yeah!” Marlow added. “We’re winning the Cup, 100%.” Varkov added. Ilya didn’t care that his teammates were watching, he pulled Shane into a kiss. Normally, the omega would mind such a public display of affection but he was too happy. He was going to get the chance to return to hockey. He was going to be a Raider. “Montreal doesn’t know what’s going to hit them.” Connors laughed. Shane was quickly pulled out onto the ice as all of the Raiders took turns pulling him into a hug. Shane had felt more a part of this team in the couple of months since they’d found out about him and Ilya than he had in the years he’d played for the Metros. It was a shame but he knew he was in good hands.

When they got back to Ilya’s house, Shane pulled out his phone for the first time since he’d left that morning and had a million missed calls and messages. Mostly from Yuna but also from his agent. The Raiders weren’t going to announce anything yet. It had been decided that it would make more sense to wait until after Shane gave birth to his and Ilya’s daughter. Deciding it would be easier to just bite the bullet and speak to her, Shane called Yuna. “Shane! Is this serious? The Raiders want to sign you?” Yuna asked in lieu of a greeting. “Hello, mom. It’s good to talk to you, too.” Shane laughed. “Yes, hello, Shane. How are you? Is the baby okay? Now can we talk about the Raiders?” Yuna reeled off and Shane could hear his dad laughing in the background. Today had been very surreal and he was glad it wasn’t just him that was a little shocked by the turn of events. “I’m good. Baby girl is good. Ilya is good. Yes, we can talk about the Raiders now.” Shane chuckled as Ilya wrapped his arms around the omega and pressed a kiss to the side of his neck. “You want to do it?” Yuna inquired. “Well no one else has offered me a team to return to. Besides, it’s the best possible outcome because Ilya is already here. I know it means we’ll be further away from you and dad but I really think this is the best thing that could have happened.” Shane explained. Yuna hated the thought of her son and granddaughter being so far away. A 6 hour drive as opposed to a 2 hour drive but a flight there was less than 2 hours if it was nonstop. Yuna and David would make it work. All that mattered was that Shane was happy. And Ilya and the baby. But Shane was everyone’s main focus right now. “I know. But this is a great opportunity for you all. You can live together and raise your daughter together instead of trying to figure out how you’re supposed to do that while living in different countries. Don’t worry about me or your dad. Okay, we love you no matter how close or far you are. Your little family is most important right now. Focus on that.” Yuna assured. “Don’t worry. We are.” Ilya stated, resting a hand on Shane’s bump. The omega brought up a hand to join Ilya’s and threaded their fingers together. The future was looking a lot brighter now.

Chapter 17

Packing up all of his belongings and selling his apartment in Montreal had been a lot easier than Shane had thought it would be. Sure, it had been bittersweet but he was very much looking forward to the future. “I can’t believe you’re moving to Boston.” Hayden sighed. Shane did feel a little bad about leaving his best friend behind in Montreal but Shane had to do what was best for himself and the baby and that would always involve Ilya. Besides, now that he was going to play for the Raiders it didn’t make sense to keep the place. “I’ll still be around. Can’t get rid of Uncle Shane that easily.” Shane joked. It was going to be difficult for him, too. He was so used to the support that he got, not only from his parents but from Hayden and Jackie, too. This baby had thrown a wrench in everything. Shane’s entire life had changed that day in the hospital although he had been surprised by the way everyone had reacted (pleasantly surprised by the Raiders, not so much by the Metros), Shane wouldn’t change it for the world. He loved Ilya and he loved their daughter.

Ilya had wanted to be here to help Shane but the Canadian wouldn’t allow his alpha to miss any games. Shane was already benched for the season, he wouldn’t have Ilya joining him just because. Still, Shane kind of wished his alpha was with him right now. It wasn’t easy. He’d lived in Montreal for so long and it had been the scenes for so much of his life, he’d won two Cups here and he had been hoping to retire while still playing for the Metros. It broke Shane’s heart that this had happened. It had mostly been out of his control, he and Ilya certainly hadn’t planned to have a baby together, they weren’t mated and they weren’t even courting when it happened. The only choice Shane had was whether he was going to keep the baby or have an abortion, not that there was any choice. Maybe if this had happened at an earlier point in his life, in his career then he would’ve made a different choice but he loved Ilya and he loved their daughter. He would not change that for the world. Fuck the Metros.

There was a lot that Shane didn’t need to take with him because Ilya already had a fully furnished house and neither of them could wait to get started on their daughter’s nursery but they wanted to wait until Ilya had a decent amount of time at home to do that. The preseason and early season was going to be a tough time to have a baby but they would make it work. Shane and Ilya had managed to make their relationship work somehow so this surely would, too.

David and Yuna had also come to help Shane. They were a little disappointed to be living so far away from their son and granddaughter but Yuna was only too grateful the Raiders had welcomed Shane with open arms. She, like Shane had also been a little worried that he would never get to play professionally again after the news broke that he was pregnant. It had been about a month now, since the Instagram post announcing Shane and Ilya’s baby had been posted and the Montreal Metros had taken a big hit. A lot of people were standing with Shane, they were furious that they had abandoned the player who had led them to two Cups just because he was pregnant. The Raiders had a lot more fans now and Shane knew Ilya was going to rub that in everyone’s faces every time he played the Metros. The omega couldn’t help but think they deserved it. How dare they treat him like that after everything he had done for them? He was the Metros’ legacy. They were nothing without him and that had been showing in the ‘friendly’ games they’d played so far. The Metros were yet to win a game and Ilya was delighted. So were Yuna and David.

It had been difficult for Yuna, too. She had grown up as a Metros fan and then her son had played for them for nearly a decade. It wasn’t easy for her heart to switch allegiance but after the way they had treated her son, she had abandoned them immediately. Hayden had also admitted that he was embarrassed to still be playing for them after everything that had happened with Shane but he wasn’t a free agent. It wasn’t that easy for Hayden and now that Shane had gone, they were very unlikely to want to trade one of the few good players they had left. Besides, it wasn’t as easy for Hayden to pack up and move, considering he had Jackie and four children to tag along.

David and Yuna were accompanying Shane to Boston. It didn’t matter how many times the omega told them that it really wasn’t necessary. They wanted to do everything they could to support both Shane and Ilya. The omega really appreciated how supportive his parents were being because it really could have gone either way. Sure, they had two choices, either get on board or have nothing to do with Shane and the baby but the omega was still glad they were being supportive. It made him feel really bad for not telling them what was going on. Not that Shane even knew how he would have started that conversation. In a way, it was a relief that they had found out the way they had.

Shane sighed heavily as they got off the plane in Boston. It hadn’t really hit him until now. This was where he was going to live. The Metros had abandoned him and he was going to play for the Raiders. Never would he have imagined this would be where life would take him when he and Ilya reconciled in that hotel room in Tampa.

By the time they made it to the house, Shane was exhausted. It had been a really long few days and there was nothing he wanted to do more than curling up in his alpha’s arms and falling asleep but he needed some food first. “Can we stop at McDonald’s on the way?” Shane asked as they waited for his luggage. “We can. Since when do you eat McDonald’s?” David asked. “I don’t. But the baby is making me want fries and a milkshake.” Shane shrugged with a shy smile. If only Ilya were here right now, he would be loving this. “Then we’ll stop on the way.” Yuna assured. Shane smiled a little brighter.

Chapter 18

Getting home from practice to find Shane curled up asleep in the nest he’d made on their bed warmed Ilya’s heart. Yuna and David were still here but would be heading to their hotel soon. The alpha knew his omega had told them to stay in Ottawa but Ilya appreciated them being here for Shane when he hadn’t been able to. “Thank you.” Ilya said, smiling at David and Yuna after he checked on Shane. He knew his omega was okay, Shane had been keeping him updated over the last few days but Ilya needed to see Shane for himself, even though he was sleeping. “You don’t have to thank us. Shane is our son, you are his alpha. We would do anything for the both of you.” Yuna assured, moving to pull Ilya into a hug. The alpha would be lying if he said he didn’t sink into the embrace. It had been a long time since he’d last had a mother’s hug. Yuna had been apprehensive that day David had got back from Shane’s cottage and told her about the sonogram and Ilya Rozanov. She had been so worried about Shane and it wasn’t until she’d spoken to Ilya that day while Shane was sleeping, that she started to relax. They had been together for years, maybe not officially but the fact that this had been happening fairly regularly since they were rookies spoke volumes. It wasn’t a difficult leap to see why they had fallen for each other. They were the most unlikely pair but they also made a lot of sense. Anyone could see how much these two loved each other, they just had to look. “Still, I know this can’t be easy for you both. Shane moving so far away.” Ilya reasoned. “I think we’ve taken it better than Hayden.” David laughed. Ilya had to smile at that, David was probably right. Ilya did feel a little bad for Pike, but the best thing for Shane and the baby was to be with Ilya and since the Metros had abandoned him and the Raiders had welcomed him with open arms, it wasn’t really surprising. “Sad to lose his favourite babysitter.” Ilya smirked. Shane was good with children and a part of Ilya had wanted to get him pregnant for years. His alpha had known from that first day in the hotel after the CCM shoot that it wanted Shane. Ilya had been trying to talk himself out of it for years and it hadn’t worked. If anything, the more he got to have Shane, the more he wanted him. It was a vicious cycle but it had all worked out in the end. Over the next couple of weeks, Ilya was pleased to see the way their belongings blended together. All Ilya had wanted for the longest time was to have Shane all to himself. He’d wanted to be exclusive. He hadn’t slept with anyone other than Shane in a long time because no one could satisfy him the way his omega did. Sure, this situation was less than ideal but it had given them the opportunity to finally pull their heads out of their asses and get their act together.

Shane was now 36 weeks pregnant and baby girl could come at any minute. It was terrifying how quickly the pregnancy had gone although it made a lot of sense considering they hadn’t known about baby girl for nearly half of the pregnancy. Today’s task was to try and tackle the nursery. Even though their daughter would be sleeping in their room to start with, they wanted to have her own space ready for when she needed it so they could just soak up being new parents instead of trying to sort everything then.

David and Yuna had gone back to Ottawa, but all of the Raiders were happy to lend a hand. Ilya was thrilled at how quickly they had all taken to Shane although his pheromones would probably be influencing a lot of their decisions. Ilya found his omega practically impossible to resist. In more ways than one.

Shane wasn’t impressed that he wasn’t really allowed to help prepare their daughter’s nursery. “I’m pregnant. That doesn't mean I can’t do anything.” Shane protested. “You are doing something. You’re carrying our daughter.” Ilya argued, wrapping his arms around Shane and drawing the omega into a kiss. Much to the good natured teasing of their teammates. Ilya had never been in a relationship serious enough for his teammates to know about it before and they were all having a great time teasing him about Shane. They all had great respect for the omega, though so it was mostly aimed at Ilya and he didn’t mind. He knew how in love he was with both Shane and their daughter and didn’t mind being teased for it. His life was perfect.

Carmichael and Varkov were in charge of painting what used to be a guest room while Ilya and Cliff put together the furniture. Shane hadn’t been banned from the room but it certainly felt like it. Shane knew Ilya had only stopped him from being in the room because of the paint fumes. All the windows in the room were open for ventilation but Ilya wasn’t taking any risks. Shane forced himself to think that Ilya was only trying to protect them both. It wouldn’t be long now until they had their daughter in their arms and neither of them could wait, although Shane knew he would definitely miss feeling their daughter move inside him. It was terrifying. The thought of her being out in the world, he couldn’t keep her as safe as she would be if she just stayed where she was forever.

With the help of their teammates, it didn’t take long to finish the task at hand. After making lunch for everyone and clearing up afterwards, Shane had gone back to the bedroom he shared with his alpha and gone to sleep. He had never slept so much in his entire life but growing a human being was exhausting. Shane knew the hard work would be more than worth it once she was in his arms but it didn’t make the pregnancy any easier.

Once they were done, Ilya, Cliff, Carmichael and Varkov cleaned up their mess because Ilya knew Shane would not be happy if they didn’t. His omega would probably still go over where they had tidied up to make sure they had done the clean up job properly but Ilya could make sure they had done as much as they could. He then thanked his teammates and kicked them out before heading through to their bedroom to wake Shane.

“What time is it?” Shane groaned. “Nearly 7pm.” Ilya replied. “I didn’t mean to sleep for that long. Why didn’t you wake me?” Shane asked. “The guys and I were busy finishing baby girl’s room. Besides, you needed the sleep.” Ilya said, softly. He sat on the edge of the bed and pressed a kiss to the omega’s forehead. Shane sat up and rubbed his eyes before kissing his alpha properly. “It’s done?” “All ready for her as soon as she’s big enough.” Ilya assured. He knew Shane would probably want to change where they had put some of the furniture but they weren’t waking him for that. Ilya could move it by himself, their daughter was only small so the furniture in her room didn’t weigh that much.

Shane stood up and took Ilya’s hand, allowing his alpha to lead him to their daughter’s finished room. It was crazy to them both that she could make her entrance into the world at literally any time. But they couldn’t wait. Shane walked into the room and froze. It was perfect. Ilya moved to stand behind him, wrapping his arms around his omega and resting his hands on Shane’s bump. “It’s perfect.” Shane smiled. “I can’t wait for her to join us.” Ilya said, pressing a kiss to the back of Shane’s neck. “Me too.” Shane agreed, bringing his hands up to rest on top of Ilya’s. Not long now.

Chapter 19

Shane had been feeling uncomfortable for the last couple of weeks. He knew from his last appointment with Doctor Smith that baby girl had dropped and was getting herself into the best possible position for her to be born but did that have to make him feel so out of place in his own skin? Shane hated it. This was probably the worst he had felt all pregnancy and it hadn’t exactly been a breeze for him but he was very grateful. Shane knew that not everyone was lucky enough to be able to conceive naturally and even though he and Ilya had been caught unaware, he would never regret their daughter or the decision to have her.

Ilya was at practice. As the omega got closer and closer to his due date, the alpha didn’t want to leave his side, even for a moment. Shane both loved and hated how protective Ilya was at the moment. It was sweet that he cared so much but it was also suffocating. Shane knew it wouldn’t be long until their daughter was born but he hadn’t been expecting his water to break as he walked from the bedroom to the kitchen.

The omega had been experiencing what he thought were braxton hicks but were clearly real contractions. It was not a familiar sensation although Shane had thought they seemed a lot more intense than usual. Ilya had been worried this morning, been worried in general lately, never wanting to leave Shane’s side, especially with him now being 38 weeks pregnant and Shane thought he would probably end up punching his alpha if Ilya dared to say ‘I told you so’ when he rang.

“Is everything okay?” Ilya asked in a panic. It was unusual for Shane to call him when he was at work. “I’m in labour.” Shane stated. “I knew-” “If you finish that sentence I will hit you when you get home.” Shane interrupted. He could hear laughter in the background so figured Ilya had his phone on speaker. He technically wasn’t supposed to have his phone on the ice but Coach Desjourneys had made an exception given the circumstances. If Shane had called and Ilya hadn’t answered then the omega would just have called the coach himself considering he had the number. But it was easier to be able to talk to his alpha directly. “Have you called Doctor Smith?” Ilya checked. “No, I called you first, idiot. I’ll call her while you make your way home.” Shane explained. He then had to brace himself on the kitchen counter as a contraction ripped through him. He tried to muffle himself so Ilya didn’t worry too much but it wasn’t an easy thing to do. That certainly felt a lot more intense than the last one. Shane didn’t know how he was going to make it through this if it was only going to get worse but it was a case of not really having any other option. Baby girl had to get out somehow.

Once he ended the call with Ilya, after the alpha had told him he was already back in the locker room, getting changed, Shane called Doctor Smith. It had been a little inconvenient having to find another doctor at this stage of his pregnancy but Shane wasn’t going to Montreal just for a check up. That city was dead to him for more reasons than one. Had he not been pregnant, Shane didn’t know how he would’ve felt about the situation with the Metros. The pregnancy was scrambling his hormones and making his reactions to things very different than they would usually be. He was a calm person. He was polite. But apparently thi pregnancy had brought out the worst in him. Ilya loved it, he was also still pissed with the Metros for the way they had treated Shane and couldn’t wait for the omega to be back out on the ice alongside him. They had worked so well together in Tampa and a lot of hockey fans were looking forward to them actually playing on the same team for a whole season and maybe even longer.

“How are you doing, Shane?” Doctor Smith asked. He had a soothing voice and Shane really needed someone to be calm right now when he was panicking and he knew Ilya was doing the same thing. They were bound to be, neither of them had any experience with this and Shane didn’t like new experiences that much. He liked to know exactly what was going to happen and when but considering he’d never had a baby before, he was going to have to learn along the way. Everyone’s experience was different which gave Shane no help when researching labour and delivery. “I’m okay. Ilya’s on his way home although I think he’s more worried than me.” Shane chuckled. “It’s often the case. The alpha normally panics more but I know you struggle with anxiety so I want to know what I can do right now to best help you. Have you been timing your contractions?” “Not really, I thought they were just more intense braxton hicks. I last had one on the phone to Ilya about five minutes ago but only knew they were the real thing because my water broke.” Shane explained. “Okay, so you’re not yet at the point where we would ask you to come to the hospital. We normally do that when they’re five minutes apart and last at least 40 to 45 seconds. Things can progress rapidly from there, or they can taper off but we like to have you in the hospital so we can monitor it.” Doctor Smith explained. They had gone over all of this at the last appointment but it really helped Shane to have Doctor Smith go though it again. It was logical and a logical explanation always calmed Shane’s mind. Calming Ilya was going to be the challenge today, Shane figured.

He stayed on the phone with Doctor Smith for a little longer before ending the call and starting to potter around the house. They had got most of the hospital bag packed weeks ago because Shane liked to be prepared but there were a few last minute things to add considering they didn’t know how long they would be staying in the hospital for. Hopefully, things would go like clockwork but you had to plan for every eventuality and Shane was good at things like that.

“What did Doctor Smith say? Do we need to go to the hospital?” Ilya checked as he barged through the door, Cliff following behind him more slowly. “I didn’t trust your alpha to drive himself home without ending up in a tree or something.” Cliff offered. Shane couldn’t help but laugh, that was the last thing he needed right now and he really appreciated Cliff for making sure his alpha got home in one piece. Ilya wrapped his arms around his omega and pulled him into a kiss. “I’m okay. We just need to time it for now. When they get closer together then we can go.” Shane explained, running though everything Doctor Smith had said. “Do you want me to stick around? Drive you guys to the hospital when it’s time? That way Roz can just focus on you?” Cliff offered. “Thank you.” Shane smiled.

Chapter 20

“I need to call my parents. My mom would kill me if I didn’t let her know that I’m in labour.” Shane said. “Do you want me to call her or do you want to do it?” Ilya checked. Cliff had gone to put the hospital bag in the car so it was one less thing to do when it was go time. “I’ll do it.” Shane said before wincing his way through another contraction. It was definitely getting worse. Thankfully, with his parents only being in Ottawa, there was no time difference to worry about, although it could’ve been 2am and Yuna Hollander still would not mind being disturbed. She would want to know her granddaughter was on the way.

“Hi baby.” Yuna greeted. “Hi, mom.” Shane replied, groaning slightly as another contraction hit him. “Are you okay?” Yuna asked, worriedly. “Contraction.” Shane said, unable to talk properly as he breathed through it. “She’s coming?” Yuna checked, Shane could hear the smile in her voice. “Yes, baby girl is on her way but it’s not time to go to the hospital yet.” Ilya explained, taking over from Shane while rubbing a soothing hand up and down his omega’s back. Shane just gripped tightly to the kitchen counter. It hurt Ilya to see Shane like this, knowing it was his fault and there was nothing he could do about it. “What do you want us to do?” Yuna queried. “What do you mean?” Shane panted, coming out the other side of the contraction. They were getting closer together and he imagined that they would need to head to the hospital as soon as they ended this call but he would call Doctor Smith to check. “It’s up to you. Do you want us to get on the first flight to Boston? Or do you want some time with just the three of you while you adapt to life with a baby?” Yuna clarified. “Don’t you want to meet her immediately?” Ilya was confused. “Of course we do. But we want to respect your boundaries more. We can wait a little longer to meet her, as long as you send us some photos.” David added. Shane and Ilya didn’t know how long he’d been silently listening to this conversation. “Can I think about it? Don’t get on the first flight but I’ll let you know.” Shane replied. “Of course, baby.” Yuna said. “We love you, all three of you.” “I’ll keep you updated.” Ilya promised.

After ending the call with Yuna and David, Ilya called Doctor Smith who told them both to head to the hospital. Shane was a little nervous about going to the hospital, he’d not spent a lot of time outside of the house he shared with Ilya since moving and it was going to be an unfamiliar environment but he had Ilya by his side and they could make it through anything as long as they were together.

Cliff drove the couple to the hospital as promised. He’d done his best to stay out of the way at the house and had kindly cleaned the floor where Shane’s waters had broken while they were on the phone. Shane was very grateful that someone else was driving because Ilya was so completely focused on him that the omega figured his alpha would have a hard time concentrating on the road. “Thank you, Cliff.” Shane smiled as they got out. “Go have your baby. Congratulations to you both.” Cliff replied before driving off. Shane had to struggle through another contraction just outside the door before they could go inside. It broke Ilya’s heart to see his omega in so much pain but he had to keep reminding his alpha that it would be worth it. That they would soon have their daughter in their arms and everything would be worth it.

Doctor Smith was waiting at the desk for them and they were soon being escorted to a private room. Someone had probably noticed that a very pregnant Shane Hollander was here with Ilya Rozanov but considering they had already announced that they were together and having a baby, neither of them cared about that right now. When they got to the room, Shane changed into the hospital gown and then got onto the bed so that Doctor Smith could examine him. The omega was feeling very uncomfortable right now and just wanted to get this over with.

Shane was far enough along by the time they arrived at the hospital that less than an hour later, Doctor Smith was handing their daughter to him. “Here she is.” Doctor Smith smiled. He’d checked her over after she’d been born but she was absolutely perfect. Shane just held his arms out so he could cradle his baby in his arms. He looked over to Ilya who was standing diligently by the side of his bed and noticed that his alpha had tears in his eyes. “She’s perfect.” Ilya whispered, pressing a kiss to Shane’s cheek before pressing one to their daughter’s head. “Hello Lily.” Shane breathed, pressing a kiss to her head, too. They had discussed it and thought Lily was the perfect name for her. It was a name that held a lot of meaning to them both and it just seemed right for their daughter. They had nothing against the name Jane but it was a little more old fashioned than they were going for. “Can you take a picture for us?” Ilya asked, holding Shane’s phone out to Doctor Smith. He happily took the photo for them before leaving the room, giving them both some time to soak up with their newborn. Shane needed to stay for at least a couple of hours to make sure everything was still okay but Doctor Smith currently had no concerns.

Shane handed Lily to Ilya while he composed the text to Yuna and David. Shane hadn’t wanted to let her go but knew his alpha also needed a chance to hold their daughter. “How does this look?” Shane asked, holding his phone out to Ilya. The caption read: Meet Lily Irina Rozanova-Hollander 🩷 “Irina? Rozanova-Hollander? Are you sure?” Ilya checked, a tear slipping down his cheek. Shane wiped it away as he gently pulled his alpha down to kiss him. “Yeah.” Shane smiled. “I love you so much.” Ilya said, wetly. “I love you, too.” Shane assured as Ilya handed Lily back to him. Life was perfect.

Chapter 21

It wasn’t long before Shane was discharged and Cliff came back to pick them up and take them home. They had thought about calling a cab but wanted someone they trusted to be the one to drive them home from the hospital. “Oh, look at her. Isn’t she precious?” Cliff smiled, his face going soft. Shane knew Lily was going to have a lot of uncles looking out for her as she grew up. God help anyone who tried to get in her way, they would have the entire Boston Raiders in their path. “This is Lily.” Ilya introduced. “Hello, Lily.” Cliff said. “Lily, this is your godfather.” Shane added. “Godfather?” Cliff asked in shock. “You’ve got to share it with Hayden Pike and his wife, but you three are her godparents.” Ilya said. “I’ll take it.” Cliff beamed, pulling Ilya into a tight hug. After everything the man had dealt with in the last 24 hours alone, they couldn’t think of anyone better suited to the role. “When we get back to the house, would you like to come in and hold her?” Shane asked. Even though his parents had offered to give the three of them space, Shane wanted them to come and meet their granddaughter so they would be flying out tomorrow, giving them the rest of today and tonight alone with her. “Are you sure?” Cliff checked. “I wouldn’t have offered if we weren’t.” Shane assured him. Cliff was aware what an important time this was for Shane and Ilya and he didn’t want to overstep. He was honoured that they had asked him to be the one to drive them home. The first person outside of hospital staff to meet Lily. The other Raiders were going to be jealous and pissed. Cliff couldn’t wait.

Ilya couldn’t help but comment on how carefully Cliff drove them home. Obviously, he was very grateful that he was being mindful of the precious cargo that was Ilya’s omega and their daughter but that didn’t mean he was immune to the Russian alpha’s taunts. Shane found it very funny. It was crazy how much such a small person had upended his entire life but Shane didn’t mind. Here he was, in the back of Cliff’s car with Ilya on one side and Lily on the other, her little hand was wrapped around his finger and Shane couldn’t resist taking a photo. It ended up being the one they posted on Instagram to announce her birth a few days later. They had family and friends to tell first.

When they got to the house, Ilya was the one to carry her carseat inside. Cliff followed awkwardly behind them. “You can take a seat, you know?” Shane chuckled. Cliff did as instructed and took a seat before Ilya handed Lily over. He cradled her ever so carefully. “She’s so tiny.” Cliff whispered. “I’m worried I’ll break her.” “Welcome to the club.” Ilya remarked. He’d had similar thoughts and was so worried about her all the time but she was everything. Making up with Shane in Tampa had been the best thing that had ever happened to him because it had led him here. He was a papa. He had a daughter. A daughter and the best omega. “Can you take a photo of me and Lily? I want to piss off everyone in the group chat.” Cliff smirked. Ilya just laughed and took the photo (of Cliff cradling Lily with one hand and sticking his middle finger up at everyone with the other) before posting it to the Raiders group chat himself: Meet Lily. Ilya also took a nice one of Cliff just holding her. It wasn’t long before the rest of the team were complaining about why Cliff got to be the first one to meet her and hold her. Cliff handed Lily back to her parents and left. He didn’t want to intrude for too long. Shane checked the group chat and found that Cliff had replied because I’m her godfather. That got the reaction he wanted it to and Ilya was laughing so hard Shane though he was going to cry. Shane called Hayden to tell him about Lily since it was a reasonable time again. It had been quite late by the time they’d got to the hospital last night and Lily had been born just after midnight. It was now nearing 7am and Shane knew his best friend would be awake on account of having 4 small children of his own. “You’re up early.” Hayden commented as he accepted the video call. “There’s someone I want you to meet.” Shane smiled, moving the phone so Hayden could see the baby he was holding. “She’s here!” Hayden exclaimed. “Let me go and get Jackie, she’s just dressing the girls.” Shane watched as his best friend, the one person who had stood by him through this madness, went running around his house to find his wife. “What’s the matter, Hayd?” Jackie asked, tiredly. “Sorry to call at such an early hour but there’s someone I want you to meet.” Shane said. Jackie perked up immediately and they sat side by side. Shane could hear the girls in the background and Hayden kept looking up at them while also listening to Shane. “Oh, look at her.” Jackie smiled. “This is Lily. Lily Irina Rozanova-Hollander.” Shane said, softly. “You let his name go first?” Hayden checked. “That’s really the first thing you have to say?” Jackie said, incredulously. “It’s a reasonable question!” Hayden protested. “Hayden.” Shane laughed. “Yes, it was my decision and I wanted that to be her name. Ilya didn’t know about the middle name or the order of her surnames until after she was born. We decided on Lily together.” “Lily makes a lot of sense for her.” Hayden agreed. “We both thought so.” “Congratulations, she’s absolutely adorable.” Jackie smiled. “She can’t wait to meet her godparents.” Shane announced. “Really? Us?” Hayden asked. “You’ve got to share it with Cliff Marlow but yes. The three of you are her godparents.” Shane smiled. “Marlow?” Hayden frowned. “We’re honoured, aren’t we?” Jackie said in a warning tone. “Yes.” Hayden sulked. Shane was trying not to laugh. A week after Lily’s arrival, Ilya returned to practice with his team. It was a reasonable time in the season to have had a baby as it was likely, depending on how his recovery went, that Shane might be able to return to the ice for the playoffs but that was a while away yet.

At his first practice, Shane and Lily accompanied their alpha. There were a few faces she needed to become familiar with. Yuna and David had stayed for three days before going home again and as much as Shane had enjoyed having his parents around to fuss over both him and Lily, he was grateful they had gone home. It had been a little suffocating.

“Roz! Good to have you back, cap!” Cliff shouted as Ilya approached the ice, Shane trailing after him. “I’ve brought someone for you all to meet.” Ilya smiled, moving out of the way to show Shane carrying Lily. Every member of the Raiders fought to be the first one off the ice so they could see her. “Hey, Lily.” Cliff smiled, holding a finger out to Lily. She tightly grasped his finger with her hand when he brought it close enough for her to grab. Cliff just looked up at Shane with wide eyes. “Yeah, I know how you feel.” Shane chuckled. “I can’t believe you guys made such a cute kid.” Carmichael joked. “Lucky for me she mostly looks like Shane.” Ilya smiled. He knew as soon as Shane was gone that he would get teased by the team but he didn’t mind. So he was head over heels in love with his omega. That wasn’t a bad thing at all.

Chapter 22

Shane was feeling very nervous. It was finally time to step back out on the ice again. Doctor Smith had cleared him to return to the ice about 6 weeks after Lily had been born, around the same time he’d been cleared for sex again. Ilya had waited longer than that though, his alpha didn’t care what the doctors said, he’d waited until Shane was ready, just like he’d promised he would. Shane knew how lucky he was to have an alpha like Ilya. It had been closer to three months and they’d both taken every precaution they could think of. Shane loved Lily and wouldn’t change having her for the world but unlike other omega’s, he didn’t immediately want another baby. He wanted to return to the ice and win a few Cups with his alpha and his new team. The team who had rallied around him to support him, just because he was important to their captain.

The omega still felt a little bitter when he thought about how he’d been treated by the Montreal Metros but he knew it was pointless. There was nothing he could do to change what had happened so there was no point in continuing to dwell on it. Although one of the main reasons he did was because of tonight. Tonight Shane would be playing in his first game since having Lily. She was in the crowd with his parents, she was no six months old and would undoubtedly be sleeping through the entire thing but Shane knew she was here and that was the most important thing to him. She was here.

It was a little ironic that Shane’s first game with the Boston Raiders would be against the Montreal Metros but Shane was ready. He had to face his ghosts eventually. It did help slightly knowing that Hayden was going to be here. In the six months since Lily’s birth, his best friend had met her multiple times and both Hayden and Shane loved that Lily was close in age to Amber. It was like having a built in bestie and neither of them could wait to watch them grow together.

“Alright, everyone listen up!” Ilya shouted, getting the attention of everyone in the locker room. Shane couldn’t help but smile, he just loved his alpha so much. “Tonight, Montreal is going down. We have the best team in the league, helped by the fact that Montreal are shit. Shit at playing hockey and shit human beings. Except Hayden. This is going to go the same way our matches against them usually do. Everything they put Shane through was disgusting and they still deserve to pay for it. And of course, we have the incredible Shane Hollander joining us on the ice for the first time. Let’s go and show Montreal what a big mistake they made!” Ilya ranted. Shane couldn’t help the blush that covered his cheeks when Ilya mentioned him although he appreciated the alpha calling him Shane Hollander because most alpha’s would have just referred to him as ‘my omega’ but Ilya knew better. Shane loved it when Ilya referred to him as his but this was not the setting for that.

Even though they were at work, Ilya came closer to Shane as he continued to get dressed. “How are you feeling? I know it’s not going to be easy for you out there.” Ilya checked. “I feel good. I’m ready to get back out there. Do I wish it could have been against another team? Part of me thinks yes but the other part of me knows it’s going to be harder to face them the more games I play where they’re not our opponents. Better to get it out of the way.” Shane reasoned. Ilya pulled his omega into his arms and kissed him gently. “That can’t wait, Roz?” Carmichael joked, a big smile on his face. Ilya just stuck his middle finger up at his teammates as he kissed Shane again. Shane couldn’t help but smile, both at Ilya and how much he appreciated playing for a team that had his back. He could do anything with the support of his team.

Still, heading out onto the ice caused anxiety to grip him. Cliff was the one who noticed first and put a calming hand on his shoulder as they carried on walking. Ilya wasn’t close enough to Shane since he was still the captain but Cliff caught the nod Ilya gave him. They were a team, which was more than Montreal could say. Shane did not have to face this alone.

Hayden came over to say hello during the warm up, he got a lot of glares from the other Metros players but the Raiders greeted him friendly. It didn’t help Hayden’s cause that the Raiders left him alone during the games but they would check the rest of the Montreal players. The Raiders had never been above playing dirty and Montreal brought out the worst in them. Especially now.

Shane and Ilya had spotted Yuna, David and Lily in the crowd. Lily was awake and she smiled at them, making grabby hands at her daddy and papa. They both blew kisses to her which would probably be broadcast everywhere but neither of them cared. That was their daughter and they loved her. They would not hide Lily away.

Ilya headed to the centre of the ice for the first face-off with Hayden who had been made the official captain following Shane’s departure. Although Shane knew this was causing further difficulties with the team because Hayden was such a good friend of Shane’s, it meant a lot of the other players didn’t want to listen to him. There was a reason they were on a losing streak. Especially when it came to playing against Boston. They hadn’t won a game against Boston since before Shane had been concussed. That was over a year ago. Ilya thought it was hilarious.

As expected, Ilya won the face-off and immediately started tearing away towards the goal. He passed the puck to Cliff, who then passed it back to Ilya. Shane got himself into position and Ilya passed to him and, just like he had at the All-Star game, all those months ago, Shane scored. The first five minutes of his first game back and Shane had scored the first goal of the game. Shane couldn’t help the bright smile that crossed his face as the team briefly crowded around him in celebration. The game continued in much the same way. Having Hollander and Rozanov on the same line spelled trouble for Montreal and both Shane and Ilya scored a hat trick, both with goals and assists. They were the perfect team.

Once the final buzzer went off, the Boston Raiders crowded around Shane. Ilya kissed him properly, causing him to blush. It had only been one game but it was already looking like Hollander and Rozanov would only lead the Raiders to great things. David and Yuna met them in the corridor just outside the locker room and happily handed Lily over to Shane. Ilya wrapped an arm around Shane and pressed a kiss to their daughter’s head. She was asleep now, it was getting late and she was overdue for bedtime. “Are you going out to celebrate with the rest of the team?” Yuna checked. She and David had offered to have Lily for the night so that they could do just that but Shane hadn’t been sure. “I don’t need to. I’ve got everything I could possibly need right here.” Shane said, smiling down at their daughter. Ilya just pressed a kiss to Shane’s cheek. Please drop by the Archive and comment to let the creator know if you enjoyed their work!