Chapter 32: Chapter 32

MYRA

Myra yawned widely as they walked down to the gym. It had been another late night for her, but not a fun one, and getting up at 5 a.m to go to the gym had been hard.

She’d tried getting Sloan to come to bed with her, however, he’d refused to take her while still fuming over the day’s events.

Though they’d had a moment after she pointed out the image on the map, Sloan had locked himself away in his den for most of the night.

When he finally joined her in the guest room they’d allocated for themselves, Sloan took to sleeping on the couch.

She tossed and turned in a fit of restlessness most of the night. She missed her cuddly Wolfie, but she sensed his night was just as bad. She heard the couch springs squeak and groan each time he moved, which was often.

When the alarm sounded at 4:30 a.m., she sighed heavily, knowing that her day would be just as crappy as her night. Myra waited for Sloan to use the washroom and change before she got up.

She quickly dressed in dark gray three-quarter leggings and a matching sports bra. She threw on a black hoodie and joined Sloan. He glanced at her, and she noticed his eyes were still black and his anger hadn’t dispersed.

“Okay, Mr. Grumpy Pants, last night never happens again,” Myra said, poking a finger in his chest while staring up at him.

His lips twitched as he grabbed her fingers and kissed the inside of her wrist. This move sent shivers up and down her spine.

“Yes, my angel, but I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hurt you, either of you,” Sloan whispered, pulling her into his arms and kissing her deeply.

Myra immediately opened her mouth, and his tongue slid inside, tangling with hers, making her knees weak. “Let’s get out of this room before we break another bed.”

He pulled away and linked their fingers together, and they left the room. His anger, however, didn’t subside with their brief intimate moment.

On days like today, Myra was glad Leanne was her trainer and not Sloan. As they entered the gym, ranked members snapped to attention. Leanne jogged over to them, smiling devilishly at Myra.

“I don’t like that smile.”

“You shouldn’t. You missed Friday morning, so we’re starting off with a 15K run,” Leanne said, throwing her arms around Myra’s neck and pulling her over to the treadmills.

“But…but…,” Myra stuttered as Sloan released their joined fingers.

“Don’t break her, Leanne,” Sloan warned. “Let’s get started, Declan!”

Once at the treadmills, Leanne tapped on the touch screen and selected different settings. She then entered Myra’s weight and age and the run’s duration.

She moved over to another treadmill and did the same with her own age and weight. They both started. First, a two-minute warm-up, then they ran.

While running on the treadmill, she watched as Declan tortured the others. He did drill after drill, making them groan in pain.

The group was already dripping sweat as they did a warm-up circuit that looked painful: four-minute planks, burpees, mountain climbers, Russian twists, and squats.

“Do you miss training with them?”

“Fuck no. Demon Declan is the worst trainer in the whole pack!” Leanne laughed breathlessly.

“Hey, Leanne?” Declan called over, and they looked up. “Training review this afternoon.” Leanne’s face dropped, and she missed a step on the moving treadmill.

“He’s going to kill me,” she muttered, finding her running rhythm again.

Thirty minutes later, they’d finished their run and ventured over to the boxing ring.

“Today’s the day. I’m going to kick your ass,” Myra smack-talked, stretching her arms above her head and bouncing on her toes. After stretching her muscles, she unzipped her hoodie and tossed it aside.

A low growl echoed through the room, and something slammed into the wall.

Myra looked over at Sloan, who glared at her. Some members were picking up a detached and damaged punching bag that left a hole in the drywall.

Sloan crossed his arms across his chest, causing all his sweaty muscles to ripple. She licked her lips and looked up at his face. He arched a knowing eyebrow in a silent “what the hell.”

“Not going to happen. I’m hot and about to go hand-to-hand with Leanne, so keep training with Declan. And Tristan, we need you to referee, because I’m about to kick Leanne’s ass,” she told him, turning her back to him.

She heard another growl from Sloan, then his voice echoing in her head.

~“Bloody minx.”~

She smiled, knowingly playing with fire. She turned around and wiggled her butt at him.

“All talk. You seriously think you got it in you to finally take me down?” Leanne teased from the other end of the ring, stretching her arms behind her back and cracking her neck.

“I almost got you the last time.” Myra stuck her tongue out at her. For the past month, training with Leanne was like a love-hate relationship.

Leanne would win their sparring sessions, or they might call it a draw. Today, Myra was determined to win.

Tristan joined them in the ring to play referee. “All right, ladies, I want a nice clean sparring match. Whoever gets the best two out of three rounds wins. So no hair pulling, no biting, and no cheap tricks. Now shake on it.”

Myra reached over and shook hands with Leanne, then they separated and took up their fighting stances.

“One…two…fight!”

They circled each other, neither one willing to throw the first punch. Myra assessed Leanne. She’d learned to read Leanne’s fighting cues, and they always started the same.

Right on time, Leanne threw a left hook, and Myra successfully blocked it. Leanne’s eyes shifted to something behind her and then snapped back to Myra and dropped to her stomach.

~Shit!~ Myra thought, and she turned around to glare at him. ~“Sloan, it’s not confirmed.”~

~“She was distracted, and that was a nice opening for you. Now you’re the distracted one,”~ he scolded, and Leanne grabbed one of her hands and pulled it up behind her back while her other arm locked around Myra’s throat.

~“Dammit, Sloan.”~

“The first rule is never turn your back on your opponent,” Leanne said into Myra’s ear, already claiming victory as Myra struggled to get free.

~“Clear your mind and concentrate,”~ Sloan linked.

~I can’t lose~, Myra thought, and she stomped down hard on Leanne’s foot with her heel, causing her to yelp.

Her hold on Myra loosened, so Myra grabbed the arm around her neck and bent forward, flipping a surprised Leanne over her shoulder and onto the ground. The sound of her body slamming onto the mat echoed through the room.

Myra backed away, shaking her hands to circulate the blood in her arms while bouncing on her toes in glee.

She gave Leanne some breathing space as she groaned in pain and coughed, having had the wind knocked out of her.

“Good. Very good.”

“Damn, sis. That was impressive. Point to Myra.” Tristan held up his hand to signal that the first round was over. Others in the room were now invested in their session and abandoned their training to spectate.

Leanne jumped to her feet, and they shook hands again to start round two. Like before, they circled each other, neither willing to throw the first punch.

Myra noticed Leanne’s eyes were glowing green while she smiled wickedly at her.

~Her animal wants to play.~

Myra giggled, shaking her head to clear it of any distractions.

~“Go first,”~ Sloan advised, and she nodded.

She inched toward Leanne, who then lunged at her. Myra sidestepped, avoiding the impact, and slammed her palm into Leanne’s back, pushing her toward the side of the ring.

Leanne bounced off the ring, and what happened next occurred so quickly that Myra didn’t see it coming. One minute she was on guard, watching Leanne backflip toward her, and the next, they were both on the ground.

Leanne’s thighs locked around Myra’s chest, and her arm was twisted and pulled.

“Okay, break it up. Second round goes to Leanne,” Tristan said, patting Leanne on the head, and she released Myra’s hand.

“Go first, he says,” Myra grumbled, throwing daggers at Sloan, who was deeply analyzing their movement.

“Trust your animal spirit,” Leanne encouraged, untangling their bodies. She helped Myra to stand. “And ignore other voices that may be interfering,” she finished, glancing over at Sloan in a warning.

“Final round,” Tristan announced. They both got some water before returning to the center of the ring. They shook hands and took up their fighting stances.

~Trust my vixen, trust my vixen…~, Myra chanted in her head. She closed her eyes for a brief moment to steady her breathing. When she opened her eyes, Tristan signaled the start of the last round.

“Well, hello little foxy,” Leanne teased. “Let’s play.”

Leanne attacked first, striking at Myra, but Myra grabbed her hand, twirled her around while wrapping her legs around Leanne’s waist, and perched on her back.

With her other hand, she roughly pulled Leanne’s head to the side, exposing her neck. Leanne immediately held up her hand in surrender.

“Damn, foxy, you stayed true to your word. Celebrations.”

“Everyone out!” Sloan growled, and they both looked at him. His eyes were no longer black but white with arousal. Myra smirked and dismounted Leanne as ranked members quickly exited the gym.

“Haven’t you had enough of the poor girl? She’s going to be bowlegged next time we see her,” Tristan jested.

Myra giggled when Sloan placed his hand in Tristan’s face, shoving him toward the exit with the others.

Before Tristan could say anything more, Declan pulled him by the collar and closed the door behind them.

“I have to get ready for work in an hour.” Myra tried to dissuade him, but he deeply inhaled as he strolled toward her.

“An hour is all I need.” He pounced on her, causing Myra to giggle while he tore at their clothes. Soon her giggles turned to moans, then screams of pleasure as Sloan’s hard member plunged into her core.

***

Later that afternoon, Myra was enjoying her French vanilla coffee along with her morning’s highs, one from winning against Leanne for the first time, and one from her sexcapades with Sloan on the mat of the boxing ring and then in the shower.

~Serves him right for denying both of us last night.~ She cracked her neck and unconsciously cradled her flat stomach. ~In a couple of days, we’ll know.~

The sounds of her students laughing brought Myra back to reality. The class was separated into three groups, and they were working on a Christmas card art project.

She looked over at Leanne, who sat in the back row, helping a group. Her teaching assistant, Nina, had taken to Leanne’s presence surprisingly well. In her students’ eyes, she was a new friend to play with.

Little Emmett, one of her young shifters, had developed an immediate attachment to Leanne and was sitting in her lap, laying claim to her.

~“You should switch professions. You’re very good with them,”~ Myra teased, and Leanne’s eyes snapped up over the curly boy’s head and landed on Myra’s eyes.

~“I’m faking it till I make it.”~ Her laughter resounded in Myra’s head. ~“And wipe that stupid smile off your face.”~

~“Why? I’ve finally kicked your ass. I’m allowed to gloat.”~

~“Enjoy the win, because your ass is mine tomorrow,”~ Leanne threatened.

~“I’m taking this time to officially retire. You know, to quit while on top.”~ Myra rolled her eyes and focused on her group, smugly ignoring Leanne.

Once all the cards were completed, the students cleaned up. She checked the temperature and announced that they would be going outside for the rest of the afternoon.

While her students got dressed in their winter coats and boots, Leanne excused herself to take a call out in the hallway. She joined the class as they were walking out to the backyard playground.

~“My brother’s flight lands about 5 p.m. Are you okay going with me for the drive?” ~Leanne asked.

~“To meet your mysterious kid brother? I’d be honored.”~ Myra smiled.

~“We’ll need to leave as soon as school’s over.”~

Myra could see Leanne calculating the time to get to the airport and possible routes to and from the airport.

Myra nodded. “Nina, are you okay doing pickup supervision? I’ll ask a sub to help you out.” The girl smiled brightly.

Myra knew that she was enjoying the additional responsibilities she was receiving lately. They helped with her professional development.

But she knew that if she was indeed pregnant, she would eventually have to give up her daytime job.

Shifters’ pregnancies differed greatly from humans. To avoid unnecessary questions and suspicions, female shifters tended to shy away from humans by their third month.

~Maybe I could talk to Sloan about it, find a creature-established school where I could work—or create one, if one doesn’t exist~. She smiled, rubbing her tummy.

Their future was looking bright.