All Chapters of Chasing the Riot: The Alpha's Second Chance: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

Helena’s POVThe beeping of the machine filled my ears as I tried to open my eyes but couldn't. My eyes were closed, but I wasn’t asleep—not really. The fever was back. I could feel it crawling under my skin, hot and cold at the same time. Jarett kept brushing my hair back like that would help. Like his hand could hold me here.“Helena,” he whispered. “Stay with me.”I tried to answer but my mouth was dry and the words got stuck. The hum around me got louder and louder. It started in my chest like someone had tied a string around my ribs and was tugging me gently, gently, out of my body.I gasped. “Jarett?” But my voice didn’t sound like mine. It sounded far away. His hand tightened around mine. “Helena? What’s wrong? Nurse!”I wanted to tell him it was okay. That I wasn’t scared. But the pull was stronger now and the room fell away.***********I felt a cold air wash over my face first before I opened my eyes and saw that I wasn’t in the hospital anymore. I was standing in a fo

Brent's povThe rage in my chest had teeth, tearing through my ribs all the way to Brent’s house as I ran the three miles instead of driving. My wolf didn’t care about traffic or stop signs because it only cared about the bastard who put his hands on Helena. I slammed both fists into his front door until the wood cracked under the heavy impact."Brent, open the fucking door!"Silence answered me, so I rattled the handle to find it locked tight before pressing my ear to the panel. There was no TV, no music, and no sound of him breathing. I pushed around back to see the window thrown wide open with curtains drifting in the breeze.The house was completely empty. His duffel was gone, his car was gone, and while the fridge was still humming inside, the milk had already turned sour. He had run like a coward.I slammed my fist straight into the doorframe and felt bone grind against wood, but the sharp spike of pain barely registered compared to the thought of Helena stuck alone in that ho

JARETT'S POV I drove like my life depended on it. Because hers did. Three hours to the county line. The GPS died at mile marker 41, right where the cell towers stop and the road turns to dirt. After that the trees grew wrong. Too tall. Too close together. Their branches made a tunnel overhead and blocked out the moon. Werewolf and witch magic don’t mix. You could feel it in the air. A pressure behind your eyes, like the world was holding its breath. That’s why we haven’t spoken in 200 years. That’s why what I was doing could get me exiled.I kept thinking about Helena in that hospital bed. I couldn’t let her miss the game because of me.The cottage came into view just past midnight. I saw Maren was on the porch waiting like she knew exactly when I’d get there.“You’re desperate,” she said. She didn’t sound surprised. “I need a healing potion for someone who is seriously I'll.,” I said. “I want her to be on her feet in 48 hours. We have a game coming up. The home opener is ev

JARETT'S POVThe text was gone, deleted like if I made it disappear, the midnight deadline would too but It didn’t. My phone felt heavier in my bag and it felt like I was counting down. "I need you to come at midnight to the old bridge. Come alone, your debt is due from Maren."I looked up and Helena was still laughing with Dell. Her hair was damp from the celebration spray. The bruise was gone. The cut was gone. She looked like herself. Because of me. Because of what I owed now.“Jarett?” The coach threw a Gatorade bottle at me. I caught it on instinct. “Stop lurking and celebrate, kid. We just beat the number 2 team in the conference.”“Yeah,” I said. My voice sounded normal. “Yeah, we did.”The locker room smelled like sweat and victory and cheap champagne someone snuck in. Guys were yelling, music was too loud, Mason was trying to put Helena on his shoulders. She swatted him down, but she was smiling. Really smiling. The kind of smile I hadn’t seen in four days. This was why

HELENA'S POVI woke up that morning earlier than usual because the bed was too cold. That was the first thing I noticed. Jarett’s side was empty and it wasn’t warm. It wasn’t like he’d just gone to the bathroom. It was cold, like he hadn’t been there for hours. The time was 9:03 AM. The apartment was too quiet. The shower wasn't running and there was no sound of him in the kitchen trying to burn toast again. My stomach dropped before my brain could catch up. “Jarett?” My voice sounded too loud in the empty room. I pushed myself up and his pillow was flat. His hoodie was gone off the chair. His keys weren’t on the counter. And his phone was face down next to the sink. He never left his phone. Not even to take out the trash. I picked it up. No messages. No calls. The last thing in his search history was “old bridge river road”. The old bridge. 20 minutes out of town. The place the cops didn’t go. The black started creeping at the edges of my vision. Not from the injury. From f