Page 33 of Marked By Alphas 2: Claimed

I didn’t ask. Some questions were better left unanswered, especially when they involved Derek looking that satisfied.

“Come on,” Derek gestured toward the manor’s private gym. “Let’s see if we can beat yesterday’s mile time.”

I groaned but followed. Over a week of basic training, and I was already learning that werewolves had very different definitions of “taking it easy.”

The gym was state of the art, because of course it was. Everything in Stone Manor looked like it belonged in a luxury resort brochure.

“Just five miles today,” Derek said, like that was a totally normal warm-up.

I nodded and stepped onto the treadmill, pretending this was all completely fine. Just a regular morning workout with my supernatural mate-slash-drill sergeant. Nothing weird about that at all.

The others seemed to think I was handling the whole ‘surprise, you’re part wolf’ thing remarkably well. And on the surface, maybe I was. I showed up for training, listened to Marcus’ pack history lessons, let Caleb explain supernatural politics. I smiled and nodded and tried not to flinch when they casually mentioned things like territory wars or mating ceremonies.

But at night, lying in my ridiculously comfortable bed in my ridiculously perfect room, I’d stare at the ceiling and wonder what my mom would think. If she’d be disappointed that I hadn’t run screaming. If she’d understand why I was still here, trying to learn about a world she’d spent my whole life hiding from me.

“Focus on your breathing.” Derek’s voice pulled me back to the present. He was watching me with that intense alpha stare that meant he’d caught my momentary distraction. “You’re thinking too much.”

I was thinking exactly the right amount, thank you very much. Like about how a few weeks ago my biggest worry was paying off student loans, and now I was apparently part of an ancient bloodline that made other wolves want to either claim me or kill me.

But I just smiled and picked up my pace. “Just wondering if werewolf cardio comes with supernatural endurance or if I’m going to die on this treadmill.”

Derek’s laugh echoed through the gym. “You’re doing fine. Your stamina’s already improving.”

Right. Because apparently being quarter-wolf meant my body was “adapting.” To what, I wasn’t entirely sure, and I was too afraid to ask. Just like I was too afraid to ask about a lot of things lately.

Storm chose that moment to flop dramatically by the treadmill, giving me his best ‘you’ve been exercising for hours’ face. It had been fifteen minutes.

“Your dog’s a terrible influence,” I told Derek, grateful for the distraction.

“He’s not usually this lazy,” Derek said, nudging Storm with his foot. “Someone’s been spoiling him.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I lied, thinking of the treats I’d snuck him at breakfast.

The gym door opened, and Caleb sauntered in, looking unfairly perfect in designer workout gear. “Just checking on my favorite trainee!”

“You mean spying,” I translated between breaths.

“Monitoring,” he corrected with a grin. “Marcus sent me to make sure Derek isn’t pushing you too hard.”

“Marcus is in a council meeting,” Derek pointed out.

“Which is exactly why he sent me. He’s multitasking.”

I focused on my breathing and pretended this was all normal. Just three overprotective alpha werewolves taking turns watching me run on a treadmill. Nothing strange about that at all.

Maybe if I kept pretending long enough, I’d actually start believing it.

“Time for weights,” Derek announced after I’d survived the cardio portion without embarrassing myself too badly.

“Already?” Caleb raised an eyebrow at his brother. “He just finished five miles.”

“And his recovery time is improving,” Derek pointed out, sounding annoyingly pleased. “Quarter-wolf metabolism is kicking in.”

They kept saying things like that—quarter-wolf this, supernatural adaptation that. Like my body changing was something to celebrate rather than quietly panic about.

“Light weights today,” Derek decided, leading me to the weight room. “Focus on form.”

I caught my reflection in the mirror wall as I picked up the dumbbells. Over a week of intense training was changing me in ways that still felt surreal. According to Dr. White’s last checkup, my “accelerated metabolism” meant I was adapting about ten times faster than a normal human. Just another fun surprise in the ‘Congratulations, You’re Part Wolf’ gift basket that I was trying very hard not to panic about.

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