My Stepbrother, The Hockey Alpha

Chapter 3

Lena's Pov

I couldn’t move.

Jax stood in my doorway, chest rising and falling like he’d sprinted down the hall. His jaw was tight, his eyes shadowed, like he already knew what I’d say before I said it.

“You heard it too, didn’t you?” he asked again, voice low.

I swallowed hard. My throat felt raw, my palms sweaty. “That… that wasn’t you?”

His eyes darkened. “Do I sound like I growl through doors?”

The silence stretched between us. I clutched my blanket tighter. “Then what was it?”

He didn’t answer. He stepped into my room, shut the door behind him, and leaned against it like he was guarding it.

My pulse pounded. “You’re scaring me.”

His gaze snapped to mine. “Good. Maybe you’ll actually listen.”

“To what?”

“Stay in your room at night. Lock your door. Don’t go looking out the window. Don’t follow noises. Just, don’t.”

I stared at him. “You think I’m just going to accept that without answers?”

“Yeah. I do.”

Anger burned in my chest, sharper than the fear. “You can’t just act like some… guard dog and not explain anything.”

Jax’s mouth twitched, like I’d struck a nerve. “Trust me, you don’t want the explanation.”

“Yes, I do.”

He let out a harsh breath and dragged a hand through his hair. For the first time, he looked… unsure. “You wouldn’t believe me.”

“Try me.”

His eyes locked onto mine, storm-colored and unrelenting. “You don’t belong here, Lena. That’s all you need to know.”

The words landed like ice in my stomach. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means,” he said slowly, “this house, this town, this school, it’s not made for someone like you. You’ll get eaten alive if you’re not careful.”

I blinked at him, my chest tight. “Eaten alive? What does that even mean? Are you trying to freak me out?”

“No,” he said flatly. “I’m trying to warn you.”

I hugged my knees to my chest, glaring at him. “You’re terrible at it.”

His jaw clenched, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he turned and stalked to the window, yanking the curtain aside. Snow stretched across the yard, glinting faintly under the moon. The forest beyond was pitch-black, a wall of shadows.

Jax stared at it for a long moment. “You didn’t see anything out there, did you?”

I hesitated. “…No.”

He looked back at me, sharp and suspicious, like he could tell I was lying.

Because I had seen something.

That figure in the trees, it had four legs. Too big to be a dog. Too quiet to be human.

I bit my lip, heat crawling up my neck.

Jax stepped closer, lowering his voice. “If you do see something, anything, you come to me. Not Damien. Not Rachel. Me.”

“Why you?” I asked.

“Because I’ll actually believe you.”

That answer only made my skin prickle worse. “So there is something out there?”

His jaw tightened. “Go to sleep, Lena.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting tonight.”

I wanted to scream. Instead, I pulled the blanket up to my chin and glared at him. “Fine. Go brood somewhere else, then.”

For the first time, the corner of his mouth twitched, almost like a smile. Almost. “You’re not as quiet as you look.”

“Thanks?”

“Not a compliment.”

And with that, he turned and left, shutting the door behind him.

But the weight of his words pressed down long after he was gone.

Don’t belong here, eaten alive.Come to me.

I didn’t sleep the rest of the night.

********************************

The next morning, Mom noticed the circles under my eyes.

“Lena, honey, are you feeling sick?” she asked over pancakes.

“I’m fine,” I muttered, poking at mine.

Damien sat at the head of the table, perfectly put together in a crisp suit despite the early hour. His sharp gaze slid over me, unreadable. “Nightmares?”

My fork froze midair. “What?”

“You look tired,” he said smoothly. “Rachel mentioned you sometimes struggle with sleep.”

Mom gave me a worried look. “She’s always been sensitive.”

I set my fork down, throat tight. Sensitive. That’s what everyone called it.

Across the table, Jax shoved a bite of pancake into his mouth without looking at anyone.

“I’ll drive her to school today,” he muttered.

Mom blinked. “Really? That’s nice of you, Jax.”

“Don’t make it weird,” he shot back, standing and grabbing his bag.

My chest tightened. The last thing I wanted was a car ride alone with him.

But Mom looked so happy, and Damien’s gaze was so heavy, that I couldn’t protest.

The drive was… quiet.

Snow blurred past the windows, and the heater hummed, but neither of us spoke for the first ten minutes.

Finally, I broke. “Why did you say that to Mom? That you’d drive me?”

He shrugged, eyes on the road. “You looked like you needed it.”

“Needed what? Babysitting?”

His grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Protection.”

The word sent a shiver down my spine. “From what?”

“You ask too many questions.”

“Maybe because you keep acting like some cryptic movie character instead of just telling me what’s going on.”

His jaw clenched. For a second, I thought he’d snap. Instead, he sighed, low and tired. “Just… trust me when I say it’s better if you don’t know.”

“I don’t trust you,” I said before I could stop myself.

His head snapped toward me for a split second, eyes sharp. Then he smirked, humorless. “Good. You shouldn’t.”

At school, I tried to shake it off.

But the anxiety crept up again in history class. My chest squeezed, my vision tunneled, whispers from the other students scratching against my skin.

Not again, not again.

I gripped the edge of my desk, fighting it back.

A note slid across my notebook.

Breathe.

I turned my head. Jax sat two rows behind me, eyes locked on mine, expression unreadable.

How had he even noticed?

I forced myself to inhale, exhale, steadying. When I looked again, he’d already turned away.

Like nothing had happened.

After school, Cassian caught up to me outside.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said lightly, falling into step beside me.

“Don’t start.”

“Relax. I’m just saying, you’ve got that haunted look."

My heart skipped. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Cassian’s grin was sharp. “Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.”

Before I could snap back, a black car pulled up. Jax leaned against the hood, arms crossed, eyes cold as ice.

“You’re late,” he said.

I frowned. “Late for what?”

“Getting home,” he muttered, opening the passenger door like he was doing me a favor.

Cassian smirked. “Your guard dog’s waiting.”

Jax’s eyes flashed dangerously at him. “Shut up, Cass.”

The tension between them was thick, sharp enough to cut.

I slipped into the car before it could get worse, but the whole ride home, my chest buzzed with questions I wasn’t brave enough to ask.

That night, I tried to stay awake.

I told myself I wouldn’t fall asleep, wouldn’t let the dreams take me.

But I did.

I dreamt of wolves, only this time, it wasn’t just one.

A whole pack emerged from the forest, eyes glowing, teeth bared, circling me and in the center of them, Jax.

His eyes weren’t gray. They were gold.

I jolted awake, drenched in sweat. My window was wide open, snow blowing in and standing in the yard below.....

Something moved, big with glowing eyes.

I froze and then, just as quickly, the eyes turned upward.

Straight at me.