REINA HOWLETT
My skates had felt heavy against my shoulder as I made my way through the double doors and into the empty corridor, that cut by the skating rink. I should have known better than to take the shortcut through the rink after practice but I was trying to make it home in time for dinner with my mom and step siblings.
The smell of boys hit me as I entered the area, the unmistakable musk of Alpha hockey player was ripe.
The varsity team was still inside, their voices echoing off the concrete walls as I hurried past the locker room entrance.
Just get to the exit,I told myself.Don't look. Don't engage. Don't exist.
It had become my mantra over the past year. Ever since my body decided to betray me in the worst possible way.
The first wave of heat hit me like a freight train.
One second I was fine. The next, my skin was on fire and my knees were buckling. I stumbled, catching myself against the wall as my vision blurred. The suppressant patch on my hip suddenly felt like it was burning through my jeans.
No. Not here. Not now.
My scent bloomed before I could stop it.
I didn't know what it smelled like to them. My mom had never let me ask. She'd just shoved pills down my throat and slapped patches on my skin and told me to keep my head down, keep quiet, keep safe.
"Dangerous," she'd whispered once, her hands shaking as she'd triple-checked my suppressants. "Your scent is dangerous, Reina. You can't ever let it out. Do you understand? Never."
The locker room door slammed open.
I tried to run but my legs wouldn't cooperate. The heat was spreading through my body like poison, making everything hypersensitive. The fluorescent lights were too bright. The sound of skates on concrete was too loud. My own heartbeat was a drum in my ears, frantic and wild.
"Holy fuck."
"Is that..."
"Christ, someone call..."
The voices overlapped, aggressive and hungry and wrong. I couldn't see their faces. Could barely process their words. All I knew was that there were too many of them and they were getting closer.
An Alpha grabbed my arm.
I screamed.
The touch sent shock waves through my system, my body reacting in ways I didn't understand and couldn't control. My scent spiked again, flooding the hallway, and suddenly the voices weren't overlapping anymore.
They were snarling.
"Get your fucking hands off her!"
Luca.
I would have recognized his voice anywhere, even through the haze of heat and terror. He'd always sounded calm, controlled, safe. But now there was something feral underneathit. Something that made the Alpha holding me let go immediately.
"Vale, what the hell..."
"I said get back!"
More snarling. The sound of bodies hitting walls. Someone was yelling about calling security but no one was moving, they were all just standing there breathing in my scent like they couldn't help themselves.
I was going to be sick.
"Reina."
