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Sydnee smiled wickedly. “You’ll have to try harder than that if you want to be in shape for the competitions.”
“Don’t listen to them, Jessica,” I told her. “You do what’s right for you.”
Jessica pressed her lips together and turned her treadmill up a bit faster. She was already breaking a sweat. “I should have been better prepared,” she muttered.
I frowned. “Just go at your own pace.”
“I’m fine,” she said with a too-bright smile. Her cheeks were pink, and she was breathing hard as she broke into a run. “I was just warming up. I can keep up.”
But not five minutes later, Sydnee and Madison hadn’t let up, Jessica had pushed herself even harder, and I was starting to worry about how pale she was looking and how labored her breathing was.
“Jessica, do you—”
Suddenly she jumped off the treadmill and ran to the nearest trash can. The sounds of her getting sick filled the room, and white-hot anger had me turning off my treadmill and whirling on Sydnee.
“What the fuck is your problem? Since when is it cool to be a bully? Aren’t you too old for that shit?”
She blinked, clearly shocked at my outburst, but then she scoffed and waved her hand. “Whatever. The alpha’s wife needs to be the best of the best. Not only does Jessica need to get in shape and be ready, but she needs to realize this competition isn’t for the weak.”
“Or the chubby,” Madison added with a snorted laugh.
I clenched my fists, ready to haul Sydnee off her treadmill and show her what was up, but who knows where that would lead. I wasn’t about to challenge someone when I didn’t know what they were capable of.
“An alpha’s wife,” I retorted, my voice shaking with anger, “wouldn’t be a bully who tears down the people around her. The alpha and his mate certainly aren’t bullies.”
I gave her a scathing glare, then hurried over to Jessica. “Hey, are you okay? Let me get you some water.”
Jessica nodded, her cheeks still flushed as she struggled to catch her breath. I grabbed a water bottle from the gym fridge and brought it back just as the nurse—Margie, I believe she’d said her name was when she stitched me up that first night—came in and rushed over to Jessica.
“Here, hon, have a seat right here,” the elderly woman said, her voice soft and kind. “I just want to check your vitals and ensure this isn’t anything more than overexertion.”
“Jessica, you shouldn’t have done that.” I kept my voice low in case anyone was listening. “You can’t worry about what those bitches think. Sorry,” I added quickly to Margie. She simply smiled as she took Jessica’s blood pressure.
“I know. But I just couldn’t stand the way they were making me feel. I wanted to prove that I was good enough.” Jessica looked up at me, her lower lip trembling. “Do you think I’m too weak or unfit to be an alpha’s wife?”
God, I wanted to punch Sydnee in the face for making this sweet girl feel so bad about herself. “I think weakness comes in many forms, just like strengths. It’s how you use both that defines you. Don’t allow someone else to make you feel small. You’re just as worthy as anyone else here.”
“You should listen to your friend,” Margie said as she put away the blood pressure cuff. “She’s right. Now, I think you’ll be just fine. Drink some water and take it easy. Don’t push past your limits.”
Jessica nodded. “Thank you, Margie. You’re just as kind as ever.”
Margie patted her shoulder. “Hang in there.” She turned to me with a smile. “How are your stitches?”
“Fine. I think the wound is mostly healed now.”
She nodded. “Should be. But if you want to stop by and have me take a look, you know where to find me.”
Margie left, and Jessica sighed heavily. “Now what?”
I glanced around. Some women had moved on to other training activities while Jessica got checked out. “Let’s check out the free weights. Some light toning should be doable.”
The rest of PT was uneventful, though after my outburst with Sydnee, I felt many eyes on me as I continued working out, pushing myself hard in search of that inner peace that was so tough to find these days.
As I worked, my thoughts drifted back to last night, to my conversations with Holden by the fountain and on the walk. I didn’t know what to make of it. He seemed like a decent person. The fact remained that he killed my brother, but how long could I continue blaming him? Even I knew he’d followed the laws and traditions that governed our species. Challenges were part of shifter life.
It was possible I might have to kill someone myself during this wretched competition. If it came down to it, would I be able to? If it meant not having to go back to Branson, could I do it?
I wasn’t sure. Holden had killed more shifters than I was even aware of. But could I really call him a murderer? There’d been hurt in his eyes when I’d said it yesterday. Not that I wanted to be his new best friend or anything, but a tiny part of me could understand why he’d done it, even if I hated to admit it to myself. Last night, he’d been different than I expected. Not nearly as hard and callous as I’d made him out to be in my mind. And I couldn’t deny that when he looked at me with those smoldering brown eyes, I felt things I’d never felt before.
