Chapter 3 The Secret in the Locker Room

The Secret in the Locker Room

Scarlett’s POV

My wolf was restless as I turned from one side of the bed to the other, pulling the blanket up to my chin before kicking it off again. The room was still dark, and from the quiet around me, I could tell it was nowhere near morning. Every time I closed my eyes, that logo appeared in my head again. 

I finally grabbed my phone from the nightstand and searched for it again. “Lion head symbol, hockey team, Darkridge.”

I tried different descriptions, but nothing matched the symbol. The results showed sports logos, old family crests, lion tattoos, and pages that had nothing to do with what I needed.

I dropped my phone onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, frustrated that the search had led me nowhere.

I picked up my phone again and went through the old team photos on the Darkridge athletics page. I scrolled through one hockey roster after another, checking the players’ skates. Most of them had plain blades with nothing unusual about them.

Then I found a picture that was taken a few months ago.

I scrolled back through the photo and zoomed in, my heart starting to beat faster. 

I sat up slowly, staring at the screen. Out of all the players in that photo, only Caleb and Draven had the same logo on their blades. I wondered why two people who had been enemies would share the same symbol.  

My wolf shifted restlessly inside me. This time I listened to her.

I needed to find out what this was. I glanced at Nora and Sienna, both fast asleep in their beds, completely unaware of what was going through my head.

Before I could talk myself out of it, I grabbed the black hoodie I had packed earlier. I pulled it over my head, tucked my hair behind my ears, and slipped out of bed. I moved carefully across the room, wincing when the floor creaked beneath my foot.

I froze and looked back at them.

Neither Nora nor Sienna moved.

Holding my breath, I slowly reached for the door and turned the handle. I opened it just enough to squeeze through, then quietly pulled it shut behind me.

I was going to search Draven’s locker, even if I had to deal with the consequences later.

The hallway outside was empty, with only a few weak security lights keeping the darkness from taking over completely. I walked quickly, staying close to the wall as I made my way toward the courtyard. My heart was already beating faster than usual, and with every step, I wondered if sneaking out in the middle of the night had been a terrible idea.

I was almost past the main building when I heard footsteps.

I stopped so suddenly that I nearly gasped. A security guard approached around the corner, his flashlight moving slowly across the hallway. The beam came closer and closer to where I was standing, and I quickly pressed myself into the shadows beside a doorway. I barely dared to breathe. Even my wolf, who had been restless all night, went completely quiet.

The light moved to the left, then slowly came back to the right before finally disappearing down the other side of the hallway. I stayed pressed against the wall, afraid that moving too soon would give me away. I didn’t relax until I could no longer hear the guard’s footsteps.

Only then did I hurry toward the courtyard.

By the time I reached the hockey arena, my nerves were stretched tight. The building was dark and completely silent. I tried the glass doors, expecting them to be locked, but they opened without a problem. Whoever had left last hadn’t bothered to check them properly. I slipped inside and closed the door behind me as quietly as I could.

At night, the locker room felt like a different place. During the day, it was filled with noise and people, but now every little shadow made me nervous. I kept looking over my shoulder as I walked down the row of lockers until I finally found the one I was looking for.

DRAVEN LAURENT. CAPTAIN.

I crouched in front of it and tried the handle, even though I already knew it wouldn’t open. As expected, the lock didn’t move.

I glanced around before pulling a hairpin from my hair. My fingers were shaking as I pushed it into the lock and tried to work it open. It didn’t work the first time, and it didn’t work the second time either. I bit down on my lip and tried again, frustration building inside me.

For a moment, I thought about giving up.

Then I felt something move.

I held my breath and carefully twisted the pin. The lock gave a soft click, and I almost jumped at the sound.

I stared at the locker for a moment before easing it open. I waited for something to happen, but the room remained completely silent.

Inside, a black duffel bag was pushed against the back wall. I pulled it out and unzipped it, my hands moving quickly now that I had finally gotten this far. A pair of hockey skates was on top, the leather worn from years of use.

I picked them up and turned one of the blades toward the faint light coming through the high windows.

There it was.

The lion head was carved deep into the metal.

For several seconds, I could only stare at it. I had wanted proof that the two symbols were connected, but seeing it with my own eyes made my stomach twist.

I quickly pulled out my phone and took several pictures of the blade. Then I shoved the skates back into the bag, glancing toward the entrance every few seconds.

I had barely finished taking the last picture when a strange feeling crawled up my spine.

My fingers brushed against something at the bottom of the bag. I reached inside and pulled it out, expecting to find another piece of equipment, but it was a photograph. I turned it over in my hand, and for a moment, I just stared at it, trying to understand what I was seeing.

It was Draven and Caleb standing together, both looking younger than they did now. I stared at the picture in confusion. Why had they taken a picture together when everyone knew they hated each other?

Caleb’s side of the photograph had been vandalized. Thick red paint covered his chest, and several tiny holes had been punched through the paper where his heart should have been. Whoever had done it had not simply wanted to damage a picture. They had wanted to make a point, and the thought made my stomach turn.

I turned the photograph over with shaking hands, and my eyes landed on the writing across the back. The words were written in dark ink, messy enough to look like they had been written in a hurry.

‘How much are you willing to lose before you learn the truth?’

I read it once, and those words made my skin crawl. 

I held it tighter as every broken piece started coming together. The lion on Caleb’s skate. The same lion on Draven’s skate. And now this photograph, deliberately ruined on Caleb’s side and hidden among Draven’s things.

There were too many connections for me to dismiss as coincidence.

My chest tightened as a frightening possibility took shape.

Draven had something to do with Caleb’s death.

The thought settled heavily in my chest. I had come to Darkridge expecting lies, but I hadn’t expected to find a photograph that made my brother look like the target of someone’s hatred. I took another picture, making sure the message on the back was clear, because I could not afford to lose the only proof I had.

Maybe Draven hadn’t killed my brother himself. Maybe he had helped the person who did. But after everything I had found tonight, I was sure as hell that Draven knows what happened to my brother.

My wolf stirred inside me, and a low growl rumbled through my chest. She wasn’t afraid anymore. She was angry, and ready to fight.

I quickly took a picture of the photograph before shoving it back into the bag and reached for the zipper. My mind was still stuck on those words when something suddenly slammed into me from behind.

My back slammed against the lockers, driving the air from my lungs. Before I could recover, a hand closed around my throat. Panic hit so fast that I could barely think. I clawed at his wrist, desperate to loosen his grip, but he was far stronger than I was.

I grabbed the wrist and tried to pull it away, but it wouldn’t move. The grip was too strong. My feet barely touched the floor as I was lifted onto my toes, and fear shot through me when I realized how easily he was holding me.

I forced my eyes open and looked at the person holding me.

It was Draven, but something about him was terribly wrong.

His face looked almost the same, yet it wasn’t completely human anymore. His eyes glowed a bright orange in the darkness, and his jaw looked sharper than before. Dark fur covered parts of his hands and crept up the side of his throat. His breathing was deep and rough, and the sound coming from his chest was closer to a growl than a human breath.

I had thought Caleb’s death was Darkridge's darkest secret.

Now I was beginning to understand how wrong I had been.