The Underdog's Howl

Chapter 3: The Reunion

The Bloodclaw Brawlers' arena was nothing like the Grimm Valley rink.

Where the Grizzlies' stadium was all sharp angles and cold steel, the Brawlers' home felt ancient. The walls were carved from dark stone. Torches lined the tunnels instead of fluorescent lights. The air smelled like earth and smoke and something wild. It felt less like a sports venue and more like a temple.

Elena stood in the tunnel leading to the ice, her heart beating slow and steady. The crowd was already roaring. She could feel the vibration through the stone floor, a deep rumble that reminded her of the tunnels where she had been reborn. Six months ago, that sound would have terrified her. Now it felt like fuel.

"Remember," Dorian said from behind her. "You are not here to win tonight. You are here to send a message."

Elena adjusted her helmet. The visor covered half her face, hiding the features that anyone from Grimm Valley would recognize. Not that they would believe it anyway. The Hollow girl, playing for the rival farm team? Impossible. She was probably dead in a ditch somewhere. That was what most of them thought.

"Just one message?" Elena asked. "I was planning to send several."

Dorian's lips twitched. "I have created a monster."

"No," Elena said, stepping onto the ice. "You just let one out of her cage."

The game was brutal from the first whistle.

The Grizzlies' farm team was aggressive and sloppy. They were used to dominating weaker opponents through sheer force. But Elena was not weak. Not anymore. She moved like water around their checks, slipping through gaps that should not have existed. Her skates carved the ice with precision she had never known she possessed. Every shift, every pass, every shot felt natural. Like she had been born for this.

The first goal came three minutes in. Elena stole the puck at center ice, deked past two defenders, and snapped a wrist shot into the top corner. The goalie never saw it coming.

The crowd erupted. Elena did not celebrate. She simply skated back to center ice and waited.

The second goal was a backhand from the slot. The third was a breakaway that left the Grizzlies' captain flat on his back, staring up at her with confusion in his eyes. By the third period, Elena had four points and the Brawlers were up by five. The message was being delivered loud and clear.

But the real message was for someone who was not even on the ice.

Kael Ashford was watching from the skybox.

Elena had known he would be there. Dorian's sources had confirmed it. The Grizzlies were scouting farm team talent, desperate to fill gaps left by injuries and players who had abandoned the sinking ship. Kael was here to evaluate. To find something worth saving.

She wondered if he would recognize her. Probably not. He had barely looked at her when she was cleaning his skates. Why would he recognize her now, covered in sweat and glory, dominating a game he could only watch?

Between shifts, she glanced up at the skybox. The glass was tinted, but she could feel him. The mate bond, still active despite everything, pulled at her chest like a thread. It made her sick. It made her furious. It made her want to skate up there and smash her stick through the glass.

Instead, she scored again.

After the game, Elena lingered on the ice. The rest of the team had gone to the locker room. The crowd was filing out. She stood alone at center ice, her helmet still on, her chest rising and falling with steady breaths.

She heard footsteps behind her. Heavy. Familiar.

"I know you're there," she said without turning around. "Captain."

Kael's voice was hoarse. "Who are you?"

Elena turned slowly. She removed her helmet and let it drop to the ice. Her amber eyes met his silver blue ones, and she watched the color drain from his face.

"Hello, Kael."

He stumbled backward like she had struck him. His mouth opened, but no words came out. His hands were shaking. The dark veins on his neck, more pronounced than they had been six months ago, pulsed visibly. His wolf was close to the surface. Agitated. Afraid.

"Elena," he finally breathed. "You're alive."

"Observant as always."

"I searched for you. For months. There was no trace. I thought..." He swallowed hard. "I thought you were dead."

"You thought wrong." She circled him slowly, her skates carving lazy patterns in the ice. "But I can see why you would assume that. You left me shattered on the locker room floor. Most people don't walk away from that."

Kael flinched. "I didn't mean what I said. I was out of control. My wolf was..."

"Don't." Elena's voice turned sharp. "Do not blame your wolf. Your wolf and I are the same. We are not separate. You, of all people, should know that."

He had no response. The great Alpha Kael Ashford, Captain of the Grimm Valley Grizzlies, stood speechless on enemy ice. It would have been satisfying if it did not also hurt so much.

"I need your help," he finally said.

Elena laughed. It was a cold sound, devoid of humor. "You need my help. That is what you came here to say. Not I'm sorry. Not I was wrong. Just I need your help."

"I am sorry." His voice cracked. "I have been sorry every single day. You don't understand what it has been like. My wolf has been punishing me. The curse is getting worse. I'm losing control in games. I attacked a referee last month. I'm going to lose everything."

"You already lost everything," Elena said quietly. "You just didn't notice until now."

She turned to leave. His hand shot out and caught her wrist.

The touch was electric. The mate bond flared between them, hot and demanding. Elena felt her wolf surge inside her, recognizing him, wanting him. She hated it. She hated how much her body still responded to him after everything he had done.

"Please," Kael whispered. "I know I don't deserve your help. I know I hurt you in ways that can never be undone. But I am begging you. If you ever felt anything for me..."

Elena yanked her hand free. "That is the problem, Kael. I felt everything for you. I built my entire world around you. And you wiped your mouth after kissing me like I was something filthy."

"I was afraid."

"Of what?"

His eyes met hers. For the first time, she saw something other than arrogance in them. She saw terror. Raw and unguarded.

"Of the bond," he said. "The moment I kissed you, I felt it snap into place. Fated mates. Do you know what that means for an Alpha? It means I found the one person who could make me whole. The one person who could also destroy me completely." His voice dropped. "I was a coward. I pushed you away because I thought I could outrun fate. But fate does not negotiate."

Elena stared at him. The confession hung in the air between them, heavy and painful. She had dreamed of hearing those words for years. But now that they were here, they only made her angrier.

"You don't get to use fate as an excuse," she said. "You made a choice. You looked at me, the person who loved you most in this world, and you decided I was beneath you. That was not fear. That was arrogance."

"I know."

"And now you want me to save you."

"I don't deserve it. But yes."

Elena was silent for a long moment. The arena was empty now. The torches flickered in their sconces, casting dancing shadows on the ice. She thought about everything Dorian had told her. The curse. Her ancestor's murder. Coach Vance's schemes. She could let Kael rot. It would be easy. Satisfying. Justice, even.

But it would not break the curse.

"You want my help?" she finally said. "Fine. But it comes with a price."

"Anything."

"You become mine." Her voice was ice. "You train with me when I demand. You come to my bed when I call. You let me use your body the way you used my heart. And when I am done, maybe I will save you. Or maybe I will let you fall."

Kael stared at her. She expected him to refuse. Any Alpha with pride would refuse.

"Okay," he said.

Elena blinked. "Okay?"

"If that is what it takes to be near you again." He stepped closer, and she could smell him now. Pine and lightning. It made her wolf whimper with longing. "I will do whatever you ask. I will crawl if you want me to. Just please. Don't disappear again."

Elena felt the walls she had built around her heart tremble. She forced them back into place with sheer will.

"Meet me at the old rink outside town," she said. "Midnight. Don't be late."

She skated away before he could respond. Her heart was pounding. Her wolf was howling. And somewhere deep inside, the hollow girl who had loved him for seven years was crying with a mixture of fury and hope.

This was not forgiveness. It was not even close. But it was a beginning.

Dorian was waiting in the tunnel.

"That was interesting," he said. "I did not expect you to actually agree to help him."

"I'm not helping him," Elena said. "I'm using him. The same way he used me."

Dorian studied her face. "Are you sure about that? Because it looked like there were real emotions out there."

Elena's jaw tightened. "My emotions are none of your concern."

"They are when they threaten the mission." Dorian stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "I told you what happens if you complete the bond. You could lose yourself. You could forget what the Ashfords did to your family."

"I won't forget."

"You say that now. But the mate bond is powerful. It clouds judgment. It makes you feel things that are not real."

Elena pushed past him. "Then it is a good thing I have spent seven years learning how to control my feelings. Kael Ashford will not break me again. Not this time."

She walked toward the locker room, her strides long and confident. But inside, her wolf was restless. The bond was pulling at her, stronger than ever. And some traitorous part of her heart was whispering words she did not want to hear.

He said he was sorry. He said he searched for you. He said he needs you.

Elena silenced the voice with a growl.

Sorry was not enough. Not yet. He would have to prove himself. He would have to suffer the way she had suffered. And only then, when he was truly broken, would she decide whether to save him or let him fall.

The Beast had waited this long for revenge. She could wait a little longer.