CHAPTER 23

JARRETT

We won but winning didn’t actually feel like winning tonight.

The locker room was incredibly loud, filled with the guys yelling and music blasting to celebrate our two to one victory over Brent on a prime-time national broadcast. I really should have been celebrating right along with them, but I simply couldn’t bring myself to do it.

I couldn’t celebrate because Helena wasn’t in the locker room.

She had walked straight out of the arena right after the final buzzer went off, wearing her team jacket with her phone clutched in her hand. She had that exact expression on her face, the dangerous one she always gets right before she burns something down to the ground.

I pulled my jersey off over my head and immediately went out into the corridors to follow her.

I found Vanessa first at the private VIP corridor.

She was standing right by the elevators, laughing loudly into her phone while still wearing Brent’s team jersey.

Helena was standing right there, completely blocking her path toward the exit.

I stopped about ten feet back from them, staying deliberately hidden in the dark shadows of the hallway.

If Vanessa managed to see me first, she would undoubtedly scream and try to play the innocent victim to anyone who would listen.

"Leaving so soon?" Helena asked, keeping her voice completely flat.

Vanessa turned around, saw who it was, and let out a sharp smirk before hanging up her phone call. "Well, if it isn't the wolf’s little handler. What exactly do you want from me, Helena?"

"The medical files," Helena replied. "You were the one who leaked them to the press."

Vanessa laughed out loud. "Leaked them? Those files were legally entered into evidence for the hearing. You really should be thanking me for putting them out there, otherwise people might actually think you are hiding something from the public."

She took a deliberate step closer to Helena. "Face the facts. Brent never loved you for a single second. He only married you for your family name, and then he found me. He found someone who could actually give him exactly what he wanted in life."

Helena didn’t move an inch.

"An heir?" Helena asked.

"Power," Vanessa corrected sharply. "And you? You are nothing but a human outcast, babe. Even with your little wolf boyfriend by your side, this entire league and this world are built strictly for winners, and you have never been one of them."

She reached out and condescendingly touched the lapel of Helena’s jacket. "Poor, barren girl. It is really no wonder he cheated on you."

That was the exact moment the entire air in the corridor completely changed.

I felt the shift first in my own chest, experiencing a sudden drop in pressure like the air before a massive storm.

Helena’s shoulders dropped slightly, and her eyes flashed a brilliant gold for half a second before turning back to their normal brown.

But the entire room suddenly felt incredibly heavy.

Vanessa froze right in the middle of her sentence, her hand still resting directly on Helena’s jacket.

Her face went totally slack before turning completely pale, because she felt the sudden shift too.

The energy rolled right off Helena in a massive wave that felt raw, oppressive, and incredibly ancient.

It was an Alpha aura.

It wasn't trained or controlled by years of practice, but rather driven by pure, raw instinct. It was the primal authority that demands you either kneel down or run for your life.

Vanessa’s breath hitched in her throat as her eyes went wide with terror. "What... what is this?" she stammered out, taking a frantic step back, and then another.

She stared at Helena as if she had suddenly grown a mouth full of sharp teeth.

"Stay away from me," Vanessa whispered in terror before she turned around and ran away, her high heels clicking frantically down the hallway.

A heavy silence descended on the corridor.

Helena stood there entirely alone, visibly shaking from the encounter. "What the hell was that?" she whispered softly to herself.

I finally stepped out of the shadows. "Helena."

She spun around to face me. "Jarrett... I didn't mean to do that."

"I know," I said quickly to calm her down. "I felt it too."

She looked down at her own hands in disbelief. "My skin feels absolutely freezing, and I can actually smell her. I can smell her fear. Since when can I smell fear?"

"Since your wolf finally woke up," I answered.

She met my eyes. "I am not a wolf, Jarrett. I am human. I am supposed to be..."

"You are not human," I said gently, stepping closer without touching her just yet. "Not fully, anyway. Your mother carried Alpha blood in her veins. Kade told you that, and he was completely right about that part of the story."

Helena pressed her palms hard against her face. "I don't want this to happen. Not like this, and certainly not in a random hallway by complete accident."

"I know," I said. "High levels of stress trigger the awakening. The game tonight, dealing with Brent, and now Vanessa. Your body is simply trying to protect you from danger."

"And what happens if I can't learn to control it?" she asked, her voice cracking slightly. "What if I end up doing that in front of the television cameras or right in front of the board? They will call it species-related instability, and the worst part is they will actually be right about it."

"They won't get the chance," I promised her. "Because we are going to train you how to use it."

She looked up at me. "How can we do that? We only have forty-eight hours left before the final audit results come in."

"We will do it the exact same way I learned," I said. "Control comes first, and power comes second."

I held out my hand toward her, and she stared at it before finally taking it in on her own. Her fingers felt like absolute ice against mine.

"I felt her fear," Helena whispered softly. "And a part of me... actually liked it."

"Yeah," I replied. "That is the wolf inside you. She wants to keep you safe, and she will use absolutely anything she can to get that safety."

We started walking away together, moving away from the VIP corridor and the lingering cameras.

"My parents died to keep this reality away from me," Helena said. "And now it is coming out anyway simply because of stress, and because I got angry."

"Or," I suggested, "perhaps it is happening because it is finally time."

She stopped walking. "What do you mean?"

"Kade wants you because you carry Alpha blood," I explained. "Brent wants you gone because you are a massive threat to him. The only person who has ever told you the absolute truth about what you are is me."

I turned to face her fully. "You are not broken, Helena. You are not barren, and you are certainly not an outcast."

I took a deep breath. "You are a leader, and leaders do not hide from who they are."

Her throat worked as she swallowed hard, and she offered a single nod. From down the hallway, we could hear the security guards moving around as they looked for Vanessa.

"Come on," I said. "Let's move before they find us standing here."