A Warrior’s Second Chance novel Chapter 437

THIRD POV

Helen went quiet.

Not long-just a brief moment.

Her eyes stayed on Roman, sharp and calculating, like she was weighing every word he had just said and trying to decide what to do with it.

Then she spoke.

“Leave.”

The word was calm. But Roman knew she meant it.

Roman blinked, clearly thrown off.

“…What?”

“I said leave,” Helen repeated, her tone becoming harsher.

Roman didn’t move.

If anything, he stood straighter.

There was confusion written all over his face now, but underneath it-something else.

Certainty.

“No,” he said.

Helen’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“I’m not leaving.”

A beat passed.

Roman took a small step forward, his voice more grounded now. If there was ever a time he was sure of himself, it was now.

“I can see it,” he added. “You know I’m right.”

That landed.

Helen didn’t say anything, but it showed in her eyes.

Roman didn’t miss it.

“You’re not rejecting it because it doesn’t make sense,” he continued. “You’re rejecting it even. though you know I’m right.”

There was silence.

Thick and uncomfortable.

Roman held his ground.

Helen stared at him for a second longer, then turned away and walked slowly toward the chair nearby before sitting down.

The movement wasn’t rushed.

But it wasn’t relaxed either.

It looked like someone forcing themselves to pause before saying something they didn’t want to say.

For a moment, she didn’t speak.

Then-

“You’re putting me in a difficult position, boy.”

Her voice came out lower this time.

More controlled.

But the frustration was there.

Roman frowned slightly.

Helen leaned back, exhaling through her nose before continuing.

“Alexander is my only son,” she said.

Roman stood watching.

“My first fruit as a woman,” she added, her tone tightening slightly. “My pride in every way that matters.”

She let that sit for a second.

Her gaze dropped briefly, then lifted again.

Then she laughed. Really laughed.

“You know… Alex and I barely agree on anything” she continued, almost bitterly. “Funny how the first thing we both agree on in a long time is something that could take both our lives.”

Roman swallowed. He hadn’t imagined how this must have been from Helen’s side.

“I don’t care about my own life,” Helen added quickly.

That part came easily.

“But his…” Her voice shifted, tightening again. “I cannot bear the thought of putting my son’s life on the line.”

That hung between them.

Heavy.

Roman watched her closely, trying to understand something.

Then he spoke.

“Why are you telling me this?”

Helen’s head lifted.

is not only ancient, but unstable when done under the wrong conditions.”

Her eyes didn’t leave his.

“There is a reason I agreed to use Alexander.”

Roman’s jaw tightened faintly at that.

“And it is not because I enjoy putting my son at risk,” she added.

Roman stayed silent.

Helen continued.

“If there is any chance-any chance at all-that this works,” she said, “then Alexander is the best option.”

She let that settle before explaining.

“He is her mate,” she said. “That bond alone is not something you can replicate or replace.”

Roman’s gaze flickered slightly, but he didn’t interrupt. He had no argument against that.

“And more importantly,” Helen went on, her tone sharpening just a little, “Alexander is a bor Alpha.”

There was weight in the way she said it.

She was stating a fact.

“That matters,” she added. “More than you realize.”

Roman nodded slowly.

“It gives him a higher chance of surviving the process,” Helen finished.

Silence stretched between them again.

Then-

She tilted her head slightly.

Studying him again.

“Think about it… If Alexander still carries a risk of not surviving it,” she said, “then what chance do you think you have?”

A pause.

Her gaze hardened just slightly.

Her voice didn’t rise. It didn’t need to.

“You are a boy,” she said plainly. “A werewolf who is still struggling to get a grip on what you are.”

She held his gaze.

“And you expect me to put you in place of an Alpha in a ritual like this?” she asked. “I don’t know what you heard about me, but I’m not that evil.”