“I’ll love anything when I’m with you,” Drax replies.
“I’m in the advanced class.” I look up at him. “If you’d rather do something else?—”
“No. I’ll be able to keep up.” He flexes his bicep in a curl. “Easy.”
“Yoga is about flexibility more than strength,” I point out, having a sneaking suspicion that he’s in for an ego check. “But let’s see what you’re made of.”
Sure enough, Drax’s confidence evaporates as soon as we enter the sticky room. He’s the only alpha in class, and he’s panting like a warthog only five minutes into the session. I can’t help but laugh at seeing him struggling to do a downward-facing dog.
“Now we’re going to do some partner poses,” the teacher announces, warily looking in Drax’s direction. “Make sure you stay hydrated, and pair up.”
“Not so easy, is it?” I tease as he wipes his sweaty forehead.
“Give me a bench press any day,” he mutters.
“Okay, so your first pose is the double boat.”
We sit facing each other, holding hands then putting our feet together and raising our legs in the air. Drax wobbles, struggling to hold the pose. Seeing him like this is enough to give me the serious giggles, causing the teacher to shush us.
“This feels like being in school again,” he whispers.
“Shh!” I hiss from behind my hand as a bead of sweat trickles down my back. “I do actually like coming to this class.”
After going through a series of poses that primarily end in us lying in a crumpled heap, Drax’s face is beet-red. He collapses onto his mat in relief when the teacher announces that the class is over.
“Never again.” Drax fans himself once he summons the strength to get up and leave the sauna-like room, his tee stuck to his skin. The transition to the air-conditioned gym feels like stepping into a freezer. “I don’t think hot yoga is for me.”
“Not as easy as you thought, huh?” I bump my hip into him. “Hit the shower, then meet you on the court?”
He hums in confirmation, kissing me on the nose. The smell of his sweat mixed with his pheromones has me wanting to do something steamy again, but without Orin’s knack for finding closets, I’m not risking having my gym membership revoked.
I feel amazing as I enter the women’s locker room. After falling out of my routine the past few weeks, it’s great to be back in my element. When I first bonded with Adler, I spiraled, thinking that my life would never be normal again, but being back here shows that not everything has to change. I can have the best of both worlds, enjoying my life with the Strike Pack just as much as I used to.Wecan do this.
Once showered, I head to the indoor volleyball court for my first practice since bonding. Although Carmen has been doing a great job holding down the fort in my absence—she’s been sending me updates—I’m hit by a dash of nerves the moment I cross the threshold.
Those nerves are quickly quashed as I see that my team has assembled a balloon arch that spells, “Congrats, cap!”
“You guys!” My hands jump to my mouth. “What…?”
Carmen is the first to hurry over to greet me. “We had to congratulate you. It’s not every day our captain bonds.”
“Especially to Adler Ace.” The envy in my teammate Mel’s tone is palpable. “Not that we’re not happy for you.” Her eyes dart to the bleachers, sticking her chest out as she spots Drax seated a few rows up. “Who is that?”
I blow Drax a kiss.
“He’s one of your alphas too?” Carmen slaps her toned thigh. “Damn, girl. Even I can appreciate a fine guy when I see one.”
“Some people get all the good luck.” Mel’s shoulders sag in disappointment before she flounces off to continue with her stretches.
“Ignore her.” Carmen claps my shoulder. “She’ll be happy after eating one of Delilah’s cupcakes.”
“Aw!” My heart sings when I see the baked goods.
“She reached out to me and insisted that she bake us all something for your first practice back.”
Delilah’s been keeping my team well-fed with treats since I started on the team, and everyone is almost as obsessed with her baking as I am.
I realize the team members are still all staring, starry-eyed at me.
