The clang of weights and the thrum of music filled the performance center gym, a rhythm all its own. The air smelled of chalk, rubber mats, and sweat—sharp but familiar. Cody was already going through sets, Jey shadowboxed in the corner between reps, Bianca stretched out with an easy grace that made me jealous, and LA Knight—loud as ever—was already trying to turn a workout into a spotlight show. I had just taken a long drink from my water bottle when Knight’s voice boomed across the room mid-bench press, every rep punctuated with his trademark bark.
“That’s how it’s done, YEAH! Better take notes, rookie!”
I rolled my eyes so hard it was a miracle they didn’t stick in the back of my skull. “Careful, old man—your ego’s lifting more than your arms. Don’t want you pulling something other than your hamstring.”
Cody chuckled under his breath, shaking his head. Jey leaned against the ropes of the ring set up at the far side of the gym, grinning wide. “Oooh! She got you, Uce!”
Knight racked the weights with a loud clang, sitting up with a grin that was equal parts cocky and playful. He leaned in, elbows resting on his knees, sweat dripping down his temples.
“Big words for someone still wet behind the ears. You sure you even belong in here, rookie? This is where the top dogs play, YEAH!”
My smirk came automatically, sharp as a blade, but my stomach tightened. For the briefest second, I felt it—the flicker. I turned away quickly, pretending to wipe sweat from my brow with the towel slung over my shoulder. The voice was there before I could breathe. Low. Hungry.
He disrespects you. Break him. Show him you’re not weak.
I gripped the towel tighter. Great, now I was hearing voices in my head, and unlike Randy, I hated it. I forced out a laugh, tossing it back with enough bite to mask the unease bubbling in my chest.
“Top dogs? More like loud dogs. Someone get this man a muzzle.”
“Ha!” Jey slapped his thigh, entertained. Cody shook his head, smirking at me with that older-brother amusement that both irritated and comforted me at once.
Knight straightened, squaring his shoulders. “Alright then, rookie. How ‘bout you show me what you got? Bet you can’t keep up.”
Bianca leaned against the squat rack, smirking as she fanned herself with a towel. “Knight, don’t mess with her. We’ve all seen what she can do. You’ll be eating your own words faster than you say ‘Yeah!’”
Knight winked at her. “Ain’t no one shutting me up, YEAH!”
I felt the corner of my lip twitch upward, even as my chest tightened with the push-pull of temptation. Careful, I warned myself. Don’t let it out.
“Careful what you wish for, Knight,” I said evenly, keeping my voice light, almost teasing. “I don’t play fair.”
He flexed his arms like he was in front of a mirror, pretending to soak in imaginary cheers. “Good. I don’t either.”
And before I could second-guess myself, I strode forward, grabbing the bar he’d just used. The weight was heavy—heavier than what most of the roster liked to rep with casually—but I knew what I was capable of. Too capable. The cold steel dug into my palms as I settled onto the bench. I let my breath out slowly, fighting to keep everything human.Normal. I lowered the bar, then pushed back up with perfect control. One rep. Two. Three. The bar rose and fell without a single hitch, my arms steady as if it weighed half as much.
When I racked it again, the clang echoed louder than Knight’s earlier set. The room reacted instantly—Bianca’s eyebrows shot up, Jey let out a long whistle, Cody raised both brows in quiet approval, and even Randy’s stoic mask cracked with a faint, almost imperceptible smirk. Knight whistled low, trying to play it off.
“Okay, okay. Not bad, rookie. I see you. Might just be a little bite in that bark after all, YEAH.”
I flashed him a grin, pretending the tremor in my hands was just adrenaline. “Told you. Don’t underestimate me.”
But as everyone went back to their sets, laughing and ribbing each other, my knuckles stayed white against the bar. My chest felt tight, each breath deliberate. Because the truth was… that hadn’t been me holding back. That had been too close. One slip, and they all would’ve seen just how much I wasn’t like them.
We were about halfway through the workout when I caught Bianca giving me that look—the one that always meant she was about to turn something into a challenge. Her eyes glinted sharp, playful but hungry, and she smirked as she wiped her hands down a towel. Then she jerked her chin toward the battle ropes. “Alright, Angel,” she said, her voice carrying across the gym like a dare. “Let’s see what you’ve got. These ropes don’t lie.”
My stomach twisted, but I grinned anyway, wiping sweat from my brow. The moment she said it, everyone else perked up like sharks smelling blood. Jey instantly went into commentary mode, pacing back and forth while clapping his hands like we were already in the ring.
“Oooh, we got the EST versus the Angel—who’s about to get smoked?!” he hyped, his voice booming off the walls.
I heard Cody chuckle from the bench press area. When I glanced over, he was shaking his head at Jey’s antics, but his eyes flicked back to me with that familiar protective gleam—half entertained, half cautious. Across the gym, LA Knight leaned back against the bench, arms folded, smirk plastered on his face. He was waiting for me to trip up, I could feel it. Randy, as usual, said nothing. He just leaned against the wall, watching with that unreadable smirk that somehow managed to make me feel both challenged and judged.
Bianca motioned toward the ropes again, tilting her head. “Come on. Show me what you’ve got.”
I rolled my shoulders, keeping the grin sharp and competitive as I walked up. Inside, though, I could already feel that twitchy itch under my skin—the part of me that wanted to push too far, to prove too much. But I shoved it down and grabbed the ropes. The second my hands wrapped around them, the world narrowed. I started strong—arms snapping the ropes in rhythm, muscles rippling, each slam a sharp crack against the floor. My breath came steady, controlled. I could feel the others watching, the heat of their eyes on me. Bianca matched me instantly, her form perfect, pace steady, like it was second nature. She looked calm, confident, unshakable.
The gym felt like it was holding its breath. Waiting. My grin widened as the ropes slapped down harder, sweat dripping into my eyes. Bianca didn’t falter. If anything, she smirked and picked up her pace, ropes crashing with machine-like rhythm. That itch inside me flared. My demon side whispered, Don’t let her outdo you. Push harder. Show them what you really are.
Before I could stop myself, I let that strength slip through.
CRACK!
The ropes slammed against the mats with a thunderclap so loud it echoed off the walls. The rubber flooring rippled under my boots, like someone had dropped a boulder from ten feet up. For a split second, I swore I heard the rope fibers straining, snapping faintly at the seams. Everything stopped. Bianca’s brows shot up, her rope stilled midair. Her face wasn’t shock—it was curiosity, suspicion, and maybe even a little impressed.
Jey’s jaw literally dropped. “…hold up, did she just break the gym?!”
I instantly let go of the ropes, stepping back with my palms raised like I’d just accidentally bumped into someone. My laugh came too loud, too fast, and I forced a dramatic pant, doubling over as if I were that exhausted. “Adrenaline,” I managed between fake gasps. I wiped my forehead, willing my grin to look casual instead of strained. “Guess I don’t know my own strength sometimes.”
Bianca tilted her head at me, eyes narrowed like she was studying a puzzle piece that didn’t fit. Then, slowly, her mouth curved into a grin. “Mhm. Adrenaline. Lucky for you, girl—I like competition.”
I forced a chuckle, nodding. “Guess I passed the test.”
Across the gym, LA Knight barked out a laugh, pointing at me like he’d just caught me in a lie. “That ain’t adrenaline—that’s some superhero nonsense, YEAH!”
I rolled my eyes and waved him off, reaching for my water bottle. My hands still trembled faintly, and I had to grip the bottle tighter than normal to hide it. I raised it for a quick sip, hoping the others didn’t notice the flicker in my eyes. That same flicker I felt every time I got too close to slipping. And judging by the way Cody’s stare lingered a little too long on me, I wasn’t sure if I’d actually gotten away with it.
My shirt was damp with sweat, arms trembling as I racked my barbell. I’d barely stepped back when I noticed them—Cody and Jey, walking side by side, identical grins plastered on their faces. I knew that look. It meant they were up to something. “Yo, Angel,” Jey called, leaning against my squat rack like he owned it. His grin widened. “You hittin’ them baby weights again?”
I wiped my forehead with the back of my wrist and glared at him. “Baby weights? Please. This is more than you could carry without calling your twin to spot you.”
“Ooooh!” Cody gasped dramatically, pressing both hands over his chest like I’d struck him with a steel chair. “Careful, uce, she came for the jugular right out the gate.”
Jey rolled his eyes but kept smirking. “Nah, she talks a big game, but let’s see her when I get her in the ring. Won’t be so cocky then.”
“Cocky?” I barked a laugh, shifting my weight onto one hip. “That’s rich coming from you. Half the time you talk, your ego enters the room before you do.”
“Damn!” Cody hollered, like he was hyping up a fight in a schoolyard. “You just gonna let her roast you like that, Jey?”
“Man, whatever,” Jey waved it off, then pointed toward the pull-up bar. “Tell you what, let’s make it fair. Twenty pull-ups. Fast as you can. Bet you I finish first.”
I cracked my neck, rolling my shoulders as I strode toward the bar. “Bet you won’t.”
Cody was already laughing as he followed us. “This I gotta see. Don’t embarrass yourselves, gentlemen—and I’m including you in that, Angel.”
“Just count the reps, Rhodes,” I shot back, gripping the bar. We lined up side by side, palms chalky, muscles coiled. Jey kicked it off first, hauling himself up with a grunt. I matched him, rep for rep, my body burning but steady. Cody, of course, decided to play referee and commentator.
“Look at this,” he said loudly, hands on his hips like some kind of coach. “Form’s decent, but Jey, your legs are swinging like you’re trying to fly outta here.”
“Man, shut up!” Jey laughed between breaths, still hauling himself up.
“And Angel,” Cody continued, tilting his head my way, “if you grit your teeth any harder, I swear we’re gonna need a dentist in this gym.”
I let out a laugh that came out sharper, louder than I meant it to. Almost manic. “Like I said earlier, it’s just adrenaline, Rhodes. Don’t flatter yourself thinking you’re that funny.”
Inside, though, something darker stirred. With each rep, my demon side whispered: You could tear this bar from the ceiling. Crush them both without effort. Snap his wrist when he slaps your back. Show them what you are.
My jaw locked tighter. I forced my breaths into rhythm, tried to drown out the voice clawing at my ribs. I couldn’t slip. Not here. Not with them. “C’mon, Angel!” Jey shouted through his last few reps. “Keep up! You slowing down or what?”
“Slowing down?” I fired back between breaths. “I’m pacing myself so you don’t quit on me.”
Jey dropped from the bar first, shaking out his arms, sweat shining on his forehead. “Man, adrenaline my ass,” he huffed, pointing at me. “Girl’s built like a superhero.”
I let go of the bar and landed soft, masking the tremor running through my hands. My palms stung like fire, and it took everything in me not to flex them to hide the shake. “Superhero, huh? Guess that means you’re volunteering to carry my bags on tour.”
“Ha!” Cody clapped Jey on the shoulder with a grin. “You hear that? She just promoted us from trainers to bellboys.”
“Hell nah,” Jey shot back, backing up a step with his hands raised. “That’s all you, Nightmare. I’m not carrying nothin’.”
I smirked, shaking sweat from my hair. “Figures. All talk, no service.”
The three of us broke into laughter that filled the gym, loud enough to drown out the clang of weights for a moment. Warmth spread in my chest with it, the kind of laughter that made you forget the weight you carried. For a heartbeat, I almost believed I could live in that space forever—the teasing, the banter, the easy rhythm of family and friends. Almost.
But beneath it all, the shadow still pulsed, reminding me how fragile that line was between the laughter on my lips and the hunger coiling in my veins.22Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxfzD7IPnHd
and then Add to home screen.