Chapter 26 #3
"And I don't care. That's not safe. I'm happy to wait. I'll get some work done on my phone."
He reaches for the door handle, then pauses.
"Actually, I'll sit on one of those benches by the lockers. That way you don't feel like I'm hovering."
I blink. "Inside?"
"Yeah."
"My alphas usually wait in the car."
Alex turns fully toward me now, eyebrows lifting. "They what?"
"They— They wait. It's easier. You'll be more comfortable here."
"I'd rather come inside."
There's no anger in it. No edge. Just certainty.
I hesitate. "Please. It's fine. It's only an hour."
His jaw tightens. He studies my face for a long moment.
"...Alright. But I don't like it."
I give him a small, grateful smile and grab my bag, exiting before he changes his mind.
Inside, the gym hits me like it always does—rubber mats, sweat, citrus cleaner, music pulsing through the space. It's loud and alive and grounding.
"Vee!" Jess waves from across the room.
Noah jogs over, grinning. "We thought you bailed."
"Never," I laugh, falling into step with them.
Warm-ups start. Jess cracks jokes. Noah exaggerates his movements until the instructor glares at him. I laugh harder than I have all day.
"On five, we turn," Jess says, already half laughing. "And by 'we' I mean Vee, because Noah's hips are still on strike."
"My hips are in a union," Noah protests, rolling them outrageously. "Demanding better music and hazard pay."
"Hazard pay for what?" I manage between breaths. "Existing in a body that refuses to obey?"
"For being this hot," Noah deadpans, then winks at me. "Focus. Chest proud, chin up. You're shrinking again."
I lift my sternum and lengthen my neck. My shoulders want to creep toward my ears out of habit. I force them down.
Jess slides in on my left, voice low. "Touch?"
"Yes," I say.
She taps the outside of my elbow, guiding it one inch. It's such a small correction, but the way she asked first makes my insides unknot a little.
For a while, I forget everything else.
The instructor runs us through the routine, calling it early with a satisfied nod.
As I wipe sweat from my neck, Chase approaches like he always does.
Jess materializes at my elbow, eyes bouncing between me and Chase. "We're not needed here. Text me if you need rescued from... instruction."
Noah's grin is pure trouble. "Behave," he whispers, waggling his brows at Chase.
"Go shower," I hiss, mortified and amused.
"I plan to," Jess chirps, already backing away.
Jonah appears as if conjured, one warm palm finding the back of Noah's neck. He nods at me, neutral, before whisking his omega away.
"Leg press today?" Chase asks. "Or are you still pretending it doesn't exist?"
"I am not pretending. I am selectively prioritizing."
He laughs and motions me over. "Come on. I'll show you."
I fumble with the seat adjustment, laughing at myself. Chase teases me gently, talking me through it.
"That was tragic."
"Rude," I shoot back, smiling.
He nudges the pin into a lower plate. "We're not summoning EMTs today. Knees at ninety, feet shoulder-width, toes slightly out. Think 'push the floor away,' not 'launch myself to Mars.'"
"Bossy," I mutter.
"Effective," he counters, crouching beside the sled to check my alignment. His palm brackets under my kneecap, thumb a warm line as he shifts me a tiny degree. "There. Track over the second toe. Don't let the joint cave."
I exhale on the press. "Oh. That's... doable."
"Look at you. Joining the leg-havers."
"Don't get cocky," I warn.
He grins, the dominant bite in his scent tightening—something like pepper and sun-warmed resin, rain after heat. It threads into my lungs in a way that doesn't set off alarms. Something low and sleepy inside me stretches once, like a cat in a patch of sunlight.
Dangerous, my brain whispers. This is how it starts.
"Keep your back glued," he says, tapping the pad behind my shoulders. His fingers skim the slope of my traps. "No arch."
"I'm trying. I can't tell if this hurts or if I'm just offended."
"Both. Two more."
I do them without bargaining. He leans in to hook a finger under the handle when I'm done, and for a second his chest is close enough that the heat from him spills across my skin. It should feel like pressure. It feels like weight I could put my spine on if I wanted to rest for a minute.
Nope. Absolutely not.
"Water," he orders. "Your heroic quads demand a tip."
"Do I tip in electrolytes?"
"Acceptable currency." He watches me sip, eyes scanning. When he catches himself, he looks away deliberately.
"I can't decide if I hate you or if I'm starting a fan club."
"Split the difference. Hate me now, send cookies later." He pats the pad. "Set two."
I settle in again, more confident.
Then—
The air shifts.
I feel it before I see it.
Alex storms in through the entrance, his face tight, eyes locked on us. He moves fast, cutting through the space with purpose.
"What do you think you're doing?" he snaps.
Chase straightens slowly. "Helping her. Who are you?"
"You shouldn't be chasing someone else's omega," Alex says sharply.
The words hit like a slap.
Chase's gaze flicks to me, then back to Alex. "What business is it of yours when you don't have a claim on her anyway? I know you're not from her pack."
I freeze.
My heart slams against my ribs. People nearby pretend not to stare.
Alex and Chase square up, the air between them prickling and toxic. I've never seen Alex like this, sharp-edged and so suddenly, absolutely alpha that every set of ears in the gym tunes to the confrontation.
"Step. Back," Alex bites, each word dropped with the weight of a warning.
Chase doesn't even flinch. He plants his hands on his hips. "No. I don't even know who the hell you are but I do know she doesn't need protection from me."
Alex's jaw ticks. "Hands off."
"I'm helping her with a machine, not undressing her. If you want to start measuring dicks, get in line with the rest of the city's alphas. Otherwise, back down."
Alex takes a deliberate step closer. "You don't know her. You don't know what she's been through."
Chase's mouth curls up, but it's not a smile. "I see her pretty clearly, thanks. She's not a parcel to be signed for at the desk."
"You don't own her," Alex says, the words scalding the air. “You never will.”
"I never said I did. But you're not her alpha either, unless everyone in this room missed a very sudden bonding announcement."
I shrink into myself, heat building behind my eyes. I'm suspended between the jaws of two alphas who see me as a point of pride, a territory line, a problem to be solved with force.
Alex digs his fingers into his palm, knuckles bleached white. "I'm responsible for her tonight."
"Then act like it without posturing in my gym. You want her to feel safe? Maybe start by not making a scene."
A ripple of unease passes through the room.
Alex's next words are brutal: "Touch her again and we have a problem."
Chase doesn't blink. "I don't need to touch her. She actually listens when I talk."
Alex's laugh is short and mean. "You think that makes you special?"
"No. I think it makes me decent."
The pressure ratchets up another notch. My name is a live wire beneath my skin. I want to crawl out of the room. Instead I'm paralyzed, and every person in this gym is witness to the fact that I have no say in my own life.
Alex's next step is a challenge; Chase's stance goes rigid.
Something inside me snaps.
"Stop," I say, too loud for the room. My voice comes out clean and sharp.
Alex exhales hard when his gaze snaps to mine, the anger draining all at once. "I'm sorry. We're leaving."
Chase looks at me, brows knit. "You okay?"
"Yeah," I lie. "I'll see you next time."
I follow Alex out to the car, confused about what just happened.
The ride home is silent.
Alex's hands grip the steering wheel too tightly. After a few minutes, he sighs.
"I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry."
I don't answer.
"I don't know why I reacted like that. It wasn't intentional. I should have better control. And it wasn't my place."
I stare out the window.
I belong to another pack. Alex and his pack are just friends. They know I belong to a pack, even if I'm not bonded.
So why did it feel like something else entirely?
The silence stretches between us, thick and unresolved, and I can't find the words to bridge it.