Chapter 233

Helen’s POV

“Helen?” Randy called into the forest. The sharp bite of worry cut across his tongue.

I heard his footsteps pounding toward me, and he skidded to a stop in the clearing just a little bit away from Juden’s mangled body, which had shifted back into a human form on its own.

“Oh, my God! What happened here?”

Randy had his phone out, ready to dial. I leaped at him and swatted the phone from his hand. It fell to the ground, just missing a puddle of blood.

“No! You can’t call anyone,” I ordered him.

He gaped at me, mouth open; all color had gone from his face. “Why in God’s name not?” he demanded. “What happened?”

I stuffed back a shudder. “I’ll tell you, but you have to promise . . . promise me you won’t tell anyone else.”

His gaze raked over me, head to toe, taking in my body soaked in blood. Then he turned his scrutiny to the body on the ground.

“I don’t know if I can promise that.”

“Then I can’t tell you anything,” I said.

He shifted uncomfortably, crossing his arms. “Would you tell me if I make you a different promise?” he prompted. “I will promise that no matter what you tell me, I will keep you safe. You have my word as Justin’s beta and as your friend.”

I swallowed back the feeling of sickness in my stomach. I wanted to throw up.

“Okay,” I reluctantly agreed. “I’ll tell you.”

He gave me another look over, closer than before, turning me around by the shoulders. “Are you okay? Are you hurt at all? The babies?”

“I don’t think I’m hurt,” I said.

When I turned fully around and met his eyes, he crossed his arms, glaring at me, waiting for an explanation. It took a couple of tries before I finally found my voice. I told Randy what had happened, running through an explanation from the moment I’d caught Juden’s scent.

By the time I finished, his mouth hung open, and his eyes were wide. His arms had dropped limply by his sides.

“This,” I gestured to his shocked reaction, “this is why you can’t tell anybody. If Justin or anybody else knew what I had turned into, all of the freedom I’ve gained and all of the progress that I’ve made in getting people to trust me would just disappear.”

“I don’t think I’m untrustworthy,” I added in a hurry. “It took a lot of pushing from Juden to get me to the point where I lost control and attacked him. Plus, I managed to keep Joy from doing anything beyond killing him, even though she wanted to. She . . . I wanted to keep tearing up the body, but I stopped her. I can control whatever this is.”

He still didn’t look convinced, so I kept trying. “Yes, I have more power now than I did before. It isn’t something to be frightened of. I think we’ve all learned what horrible things happen when we let fear take over.”

Was I working to convince Randy or myself? Whichever it was, my words wouldn’t stop. “This new transformation is just another tool to learn to use, to harness. And I will do that.”

I looked at Randy, my eyes shining, pleading. “I promise I can control Joy. I’ll even train with you. You know you can keep an eye on me. If at any point you think that I’m dangerous or you don’t think that I can control whatever this is, then I’ll let you tell someone, Justin, or whoever else you see fit. Whether it’s Lisa or Russo if you think it’s something that magic needs to help control me . . .” My voice died off.

Randy sighed, falling back against the trunk of a tree and rubbing his face. “This is a relief and a disaster all rolled into one.”

He nodded his head in Juden’s direction. “At least now we don’t have to wonder what he’s running around doing. So, there’s that weight off our shoulders. On the other hand, we have to come up with something to tell Justin.”

Tears fell down my cheeks. “Then, you’re not going to tell him what I did? Or what I’ve become?”

He sighed again and said, “Not for now. But I expect you to follow through on your promise. You’re going to train with me, and if I see any signs of you being dangerous, I am going to go to the appropriate person and make sure that this is controlled.”

He caught me in a stern gaze. “Just like we’re all done with fear, we’re also done with disasters and people we trust turning on us and hurting us.”

He held out his hands defensively. “Not that I think you would turn on your friends or family on purpose. We’ve all been watching you for signs that you’ve turned evil, and that doesn’t seem to be the case. But I’m not convinced that you can keep this new power under control. Until I am, I will definitely be keeping an eye on you.”

I moved to hug him and then stopped, realizing that I was still covered in blood. “What do I do about all of this?”

Randy rubbed his face again, this time with both hands. “I’ll handle it,” he said. “I’ll call some of the warriors and tell them that I fought Juden.”

“I think he was up to something,” I said. “Everything about the way he talked made it sound like he was still trying for the throne. I don’t think our family was safe.”

“I don’t think you were either,” he agreed. “So, in that respect, I believe that you did what was necessary to protect the peace and your family.”

“What do you think he meant ‘not the last’?” I asked.

Randy shrugged. “Damned if I know. At this point, I have a feeling we’ll find out when it’s the least convenient thing for us to discover. And until then, there’s no sense in worrying about it. Juden might have meant the last of anything: not the last you’d see of him, not the last attempt on the throne, not the last of the Huntsman.”

He scuffed his foot across the ground. “I have no idea what the old fox was up to, but as I said, we’ll find out probably one at the moment when it most sucks. Until then, I’ll take responsibility for killing Juden.”

Randy pointed into the woods. “If you go about half a mile in that direction, there’s a hunting cabin. You can clean up and wash off all the blood there. I can’t imagine what kind of clothing you’ll find to change into, but it was usually well stocked in case of a sudden rain shower or whatever. At the very least, you’ll be able to sneak back into the palace and change into another dress there without being covered in blood. That will definitely arouse more suspicion than some jeans and a flannel.”

I nodded. “Thank you, Randy. Sometimes I don’t feel like I deserve a friend like you.”

He nodded, too, a smile toying with the corners of his mouth. “Sometimes I don’t feel like you do, either. But we can’t help who we love, and I can’t help being Justin’s beta. Between the two, you’re my Luna and my love.”

I pointed a finger at him, wagging it. “Don’t let Emily hear you talking about loving me still. For shame.”

He pulled up a full smile for me. “There’s no shame in it. I love you both.” He cocked his head, looking at me. “I am no longer in love with you, but that doesn’t change the fact that you are an extremely important person to me. My love for you has just changed. I am in love with Emily.”

I couldn’t help blushing. “Well, if that’s the case, then I’m happy,” I said. “Because I love you, too. You’re one of my best friends.”

“And I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He made a shooting motion with his hands. “Hurry up and go get cleaned up before somebody else sniffs this out and finds us. You’re a wreck.”

I hurried off in the direction of the hunting cabin feeling more relieved than I should have. After all, I might have created a mess and discovered something else unpleasant about myself. But we no longer had to worry about Juden making trouble. And I didn’t have to figure out how to tell Justin.

Randy would do that part. That reminded me, I pulled out my phone and texted Randy, detailing everything Juden had said about Justin’s mother. Justin would want to know that to get closure. Turns out my mate and I were more alike than we had ever known.