Chapter Seventeen

Author’s Note: This story is set in an alternate universe, in an imaginary town and country, and during an ambiguous time period.

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The next day, as Kazir got ready to head out for his usual cycling meetup, Adisa texted him.

Adisa: Good morning, I’m not feeling well and won’t be able to join the cycling group. Please extend my apologies.  

Staring at the text, Kazir wondered what good luck he had. He was glad to know he wouldn’t be seeing Adisa so soon after last night and his shocking realization, but he still felt bad that he was sick.

Kazir: What happened? I hope you feel better soon.  

Adisa: Nothing serious.  

Adisa: I just have a cold. I’ll be better soon.  

Kazir: Colds are the worst. Feel better soon.  

He found it strange when Adisa didn’t respond afterward.  

Adisa didn’t reach out the whole weekend and into the week. Unusual for him and Kazir didn’t like it. By Thursday, the silence felt odd enough for Kazir to text Adisa to check on him. When he didn’t respond to any of his texts, Kazir felt concerned enough to call him during lunch.

“Hello? Is everything okay?” His voice sounded deeper than usual, a rich, velvety rumble like he had been out of commission for a while. There was a rough edge to it, like he hadn’t spoken in hours, as if his words had been pulled from somewhere deep within, coaxed out reluctantly but with a lazy, almost seductive warmth. Goose Pimples immediately appeared on his arms and the hair at his nape stood to attention as his heart started racing.

Kazir frowned, blinking. Swallowing hard, he quickly asked, “That should be my question. How are you?”  He cleared his throat, hating how winded he sounded.

Adisa released that beautiful laugh of his, and some of Kazir’s concern about his ailing health melted away. He would live. He released a soft sigh of relief.

“Thank you for the care. I’m feeling much better.”  

“You’ve had a cold since Saturday?” He frowned, trying to compute how Adisa could sound so lighthearted when he had been sick for almost a week now.  

“It’s just a pesky cold.”  

“Have you gone to the hospital?”

“No need. I’m feeling much better and plan to return to work on Monday. I just need to recuperate.”  

“You don’t sound good.”  

He laughed again. “I just woke up from a nap.”  

Kazir frowned. “Are you sure you’re okay?”  

“You sound like my poppa. I’m fine. Really.”  

Though Adisa seemed to brush it off, Kazir couldn’t help but find it unusual for someone as healthy and energetic as Adisa to be sick for that long. But he knew he couldn’t force him to go to the hospital, and if he said he was feeling better, he had to accept his words.  

“But I didn’t expect you to call me. I feel so honored.”  

“How do you see me?” he said without thinking.  

Adisa chuckled. The sound curled deep in Kazir’s stomach, setting him ablaze. He cleared his throat, suddenly uncomfortable. Why had he called him, and why was he acting all crazy over the phone, practically wrestling with him to go to the doctor’s because he had a little cold?  

He was being weird. He doubted this was what friends did, right?  

“Thank you for checking up on me, and I’m sorry for not responding to your texts. I’ve been…a bit out of it. But no longer. I’m feeling much better now and will make sure to properly respond.”  

Feeling his face turning crimson and his ears too hot, Kazir awkwardly cleared his throat and said, “I…I’m glad to hear that. I just…umm, I have to go. I’m glad to hear you’re doing better.”  

“Of course! Again, thank you.”  

“Yeah. Okay. Well, by—”  

“Wait. I just remembered something I wanted to bring up. I’m so sorry. I don’t think we’ll be able to go go-karting this weekend, but I hope you’ll still go with me sometime soon.”

Kazir rubbed his forehead, unconsciously smiling. 

He couldn’t believe that even when he was sick, Adisa was still so adamant about going go-karting with him and sounding like a little kid as he checked with baited breath. He knew he would feel horrible if he turned him down, so he nodded, as if Adisa could see him, and said, “Yeah. Of course. Just, you know, get better.”  

“I’m almost there. See you on Monday.” Kazir knew Adisa was smiling, and his toes tingled with the unexpected desire to see that beautiful smile.  

Even though it had only been a week, he realized he had missed Adisa.  

I need to end this call now!  

Taking a steadying breath, he repeated: We’re friends. He’s a friend.

“Alright. Bye!” he quickly said and ended the call soon after.  

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Kazir was frustrated with how slowly the medical world moved.  

He had called his doctor’s office, and even though he managed to get them to schedule him for blood work, the earliest appointment he could get was in two weeks. This meant they would need almost a week to get the results and study them, and then he would still have to wait almost two weeks before he could go in to see his gynecologist. It was all so frustrating, because with each day that passed, the more terrified he grew, fearing he was releasing pheromones and could suddenly go into a random heat.  

And he now had an alpha friend.

The stress wasn’t helping his constitution.  

Kazir sat at the dinner table with his family, picking at his food, his mind miles away from the conversation.  

Sunday had started well enough—he had spent most of the day helping with the garden. Even his younger brother, Kizar, had come by to join them for dinner. But the anxiety gnawing at him refused to let go. Every moment spent waiting for his doctor’s appointment felt unbearable. He feared his body was betraying him, and with each day, the worry of releasing pheromones or even going into an unexpected heat grew heavier.  

His father, always the observant one, eventually broke the silence. “Kazir, what’s going on?” His tone was gentle but firm.  

Kazir shook his head. “I’m fine.” He brought his fork to his mouth. “Dinner’s good.”

“You made it,” Jungwoo teased.  

“And you get a hassle-free dinner,” Kazir fired back.  

He shrugged, shooting his brother a teasing smile and sticking his tongue out like a toddler.  

Kazir shook his head at his ridiculousness.  

“That’s true,” Kizar said, shrugging as he forked up a huge mouthful and made a show of deliberately putting it in his mouth and chewing. “And it’s truly a delicious meal. Yum!”  

“Kazir, what’s going on?” His mother asked, frowning as she looked at him.

He shook his head. “I’m fine.”

It was clear to everyone that Kazir wasn’t fine. He’d been quiet and distracted all day, his usual calm demeanor replaced with tension that was impossible to ignore.  

His mother put her fork down and looked at him with concern in her eyes. “Is it work? You’ve been stressed these past few weeks. You can tell us.”  

Kazir tried to brush it off, but the words started pouring out before he could stop them. “It’s not just work… something’s wrong with my chip.”  

Both his parents and Kizar stared at him, their worry deepening.  

“Your chip?” his father echoed. “What do you mean? Is it malfunctioning?”  

Kazir exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “I don’t know for sure. I think it’s not suppressing my pheromones properly.”  

His mother leaned forward, her face drawn with concern. “Didn’t you just get a replacement?”  

Kazir nodded, pressing his lips together in a straight line, feeling the weight of his own helplessness. “I don’t know.” His frustration was evident.  

His father gave him a look of sympathy, the worry etched deep into his expression.  

Kizar, who had been quietly listening, chimed in, “Have you made an appointment with your doctor?”  

“Of course!” he unintentionally snapped.  

“Hey, just asking.”  

“Sorry,” he muttered, putting his fork down in frustration.  

He didn’t like this one bit.  

He hated feeling out of control.