All Chapters of Chasing the Riot: The Alpha's Second Chance: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Brent POV The first thing I noticed was the woodsmoke and smell of wet earth and something that smelled like an animal underneath it. The second thing I noticed was the pain in my wrists. The cuffs they had on me weren’t metal, it was a rope but it burned like metal. Every time I moved, they tightened. When I opened my eyes, I realized I wasn't back in the van, or anywhere in the city. I was in a room made of stone and timber, with one barred window high up and no door I could see. The air was cold and my shirt was gone. My jeans were torn and my confidence? That was gone too. I’m Brent Carter. I run three clubs. I know people. I have money. I don’t get scared but at this moment, I was scared because this man standing over me didn't look human. The one in front had his chest covered in old marks that looked like claw marks. He watched me the way you watch a dog that might bite. “Brent Carter,” he said in a sharp tone that didn't sound like human cadence. “You’ve been looki

VanessaThe first time I met Brent, I thought he was a god. He was tall and broad and had a scent like pine and power. I wasn’t his mistress at first, I was only his strategy.Three months ago, a pack had contacted me. It felt surreal to me but after I heard what was in it for me, I knew I had to get in.“Make her look unstable,” the older wolf said to me after I honoured his invitation. “Make the council question her. The Alpha needs a clean slate.”“And after?” I asked, because I was stupid enough to believe I mattered.“After, the Alpha chooses who he needs at his side,” he said. “Someone loyal and useful.”I took the money. I took the plan. I fed Helena’s secrets to the gossip mill one drop at a time. I smiled at council meetings. I let Brent’s hand rest on the small of my back where people could see.I thought it was a courtship.I thought when Helena was ruined, when the pack turned on her, he would turn to me. I had done the dirty work. I had earned it.I was wrong.The last t

JarrettThis was our first home game and of course the league had scheduled it like this. It was Brent’s team, his ex’s new team with my girl on the bench. The jumbotron flashes: "WELCOME BACK COACH HELENA BROOKS."Then the camera pans to Brent in his stupid tailored suit with Vanessa behind him and a clipboard in hand and a smile that was too sharp. The reporters in the tunnel were already calling it “The Divorce Game, between the two teams.” Like their marriage was some kind of PR stunt. Helena was on our bench in the in her jacket with her hair packed into a tight bun with no makeup on and her jaw set like she was about to go to war. She looked tired, despite that she still looked perfect and at the same time, she looked like she hadn't had a good sleep in about 3 days.Because she hadn’t and I was the reason, mostly because of Vanessa. I could tell something besides the jeopardy and the jealousy was going on, something Helena wouldn't want to talk to me about. I skated a war

Jarett Legal doesn’t hit like a body check. It's slower and much dirtier. And it leaves bruises no one can see. Helena was already at my kitchen table when I woke up. Her laptop was open and there was a pot of coffee that smelled like it had been brewing since 4am. She looked like hell yet she looked unstoppable. “Morning,” I said to her. "You look like—"“Don’t,” she said, without looking up. “If you say ‘you look tired’ I will throw this mug at you.” “I was gonna say you look terrifying.” She finally glanced at me. “Better.” On the table in front of her, there were spreadsheets, receipts of bank transfers, emails printed out and color-coded. “Vanessa’s consulting fees,” Helena said, tapping a line. “$40,000 a month. From Brent’s team budget. For player wellness."“And?” “And there’s no record of her ever running a single wellness program.” She smiled. “It's an embezzlement, Jarrett. And it’s on Brent’s signature.” I sat down. “You’ve been up all night?” “I slep

JARRETTThe house was completely silent when she came back.Helena claimed she was picking up files from her old apartment, but she smelled exactly like that old freight yard by the docks that got shut down three years ago.And she completely refused to look at me."Get what you needed?" I asked from the kitchen. There were dishes piling up in the sink. I hadn't eaten a thing, and I hadn't slept either."Yeah," she said, answering a little too fast. "Just some old playbooks."She walked straight to the guest room and shut the door behind her.I stood there holding a mug I wasn't even drinking from, listening to the sound of her not sleeping.Something was incredibly wrong.I had been a wolf since I turned sixteen, and you learn how to read the air when you live like that. Helena was absolutely terrified, and she was doing everything she could to hide it from me.That made me furious. I wasn't angry at her, but I was furious at whoever made her feel that way.At 1:47 in the morning, my