Page 40 of Wolf's Whisper

Tank chuckles, puffing out his chest. “Damn right, I’m superhero material. Made of pure steel and stubbornness.”

Onyx groans, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Great, now his ego’s gonna need its own zip code.”

“Come on, Wolf,” Tank say, turning to Onyx with a sly grin. “You think you could take a shot? Show ‘em how it’s done?”

I swear the whole group turns to look at her at once, even the kids holding their breath like this was some Olympic-level event.

“Oh no,” Onyx says quickly, holding up her hands. “I’m not getting into this mess. I’ve got enough sense to know my limits.”

“But Wolf!” Chloe whines dramatically, her little lips forming an exaggerated pout. “You’re so strong! You can do it!”

Onyx looks down at Chloe like she had just been handed a live grenade—equal parts fear and disbelief dancing in her eyes. "Chloe, sweetie, I think you're giving me a little too much credit," she says, her voice gentle but firm.

"But you’re Wolf! Wolves are the strongest!" Chloe insists, her tiny fists on her hips like she was giving a motivational speech. Abel and Dillion agreed, their grins so wide I’m sure their faces will be sore later.

"Yeah, Wolf!" Abel calls out. "You can’t let Rumble be the only one who tried!"

"I’m not sure what’s more insulting," Onyx mutters under her breath, "the fact that they think I can lift Tank or that they’re lumping me in with Rumble's level of ridiculousness."

I bite my lip to keep from laughing. "Well, you do have a reputation to uphold," I say innocently, batting my eyelashes at her.

She shoots me a look that could melt steel. "Not helping." That causes the whole group to start laughing even more.

Onyx sighs, raking a hand through her hair. "All right, fine," she relents, holding up a finger to silence the cheers that erupted instantly from the kids. "But if I end up in traction, all of you are chipping in for my medical bills."

"Deal!" Chloe squeals, clapping her hands like she’d just won the lottery.

Onyx rolls her eyes but can’t quite hide the small smile tugging at her lips. She steps up to Tank, who is now grinning ear to ear like the cat that just ate the canary.

"All right, big guy," Onyx says, pointing at Tank. "You better not sandbag this or I swear I’ll make you clean my bike for a month."

Tank smirks and crouches slightly again, his arms out like he’s welcoming a bear hug. "Bring it on, Wolf. Let’s see what you’ve got."

The kids fall into a hushed silence, their eyes wide as saucers as Onyx positions herself beside Tank. Even the adults seem to lean in a little closer, smirks tugging at their mouths as they wait for the show.

“You’ve got this, Wolf!” Abel shouts, pumping his fist in the air.

“You’re already cooler than Rumble!” Dillion adds with a laugh that makes Rumble groan from his spot on the ground.

“Gee, thanks, kid,” Rumble mumbles, but his slight grin betrayed his amusement.

With that, Onyx crouches in front of Tank, wrapping her arms around his waist like Rumble had. She glances up at him. "You ready?"

"As ready as I’ll ever be," Tank replies smugly.

"Okay, here goes nothing," she mutters.

Watching Wolf and seeing her muscles flex, is almost like foreplay. I quickly shake that thought out of my head, focusing instead on the spectacle unfolding before me. Onyx takes a deep breath and plant her feet firmly on the ground, her eyes narrowing in determination. The kids are utterly enraptured, their tiny faces filled with awe and hope as if they truly believe she might accomplish the impossible.

“Wait, Wolf, don’t hurt yourself, I can move out of here. I was messing with Rumble.” Tank is now laughing at the look of complete sabotage that crossed Rumble’s face.

“You are an asshole Tank.” Rumble shoots back and flips him off.

“Oh, Mr. Rumble, that is the spicy finger and we are not to ever use that,” Chloe scolds, which causes more laughter in the group.

Onyx paused mid-squat, her arms still wrapped around Tank as she bursts out laughing. "Spicy finger?" she chokes out, her grip loosening slightly. "Chloe, where did you even learn that?"

Chloe folds her arms, looking every bit the stern little teacher. "Mommy says it's a bad word finger, and we call it spicy instead."

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