Page 82 of Knot my Alphas

“Sure,” says Raiden as he picks up his coffee mug. “We’ll wait.”

Running out of the kitchen, I hurry upstairs to the attic.

It takes me mere minutes to change out of Raiden’s clothes and into my sweatpants and a t-shirt. I carefully fold Raiden’s shirt and place it inside the broken wardrobe that contains the rest of my stuff.

I hurry back downstairs and find Raiden and Julian locked in a kiss beside the coffee machine. Keeping silent, I hide by the door and watch them like a pervert.

I still don’t understand why watching them being intimate makes me weak in the knees. It’s damn hot to see Raiden’s fingers fisting into Julian’s slivery strands as he deepens the kiss.

Suddenly, Julian turns his head toward the door and spots me.

A chuckle escapes him as he leans against Raiden. “Someone’s being naughty,” he says. “Want to join us, Wildflower?” His eyebrows arc as he grins suggestively.

A part of me wants to accept his offer but it’s more important for me to check out the gym and get Raiden to teach me a couple of things. Taking a deep breath, I gesture toward the door “Why don’t you guys show me the gym?”

Julian lets out a loud, exaggerated sigh and moves toward me.

I follow him and Raiden out of the kitchen and into the corridor outside. When we near a staircase, Raiden casually picks up Julian in his arms and starts going up the stairs.

I walk behind them, hiding the hunger that’s probably evident on my face.

We walk down a long passageway on the first floor until we come upon a closed glass door. Beyond it, I catch a glimpse of a variety of gym equipment.

Raiden places Julian back on his feet and enters the room.

My gaze swings all around the vast hall, taking in the shiny wooden floor as well as the impressive array of exercising machines. I’ve worked out in gyms before but never of this scale.

“Let me grab a spot right here,” says Julian, lowering himself onto the floor.

“Do you come in here often?” I ask.

A hollow chuckle escapes him. “Have you ever seen me exercising?”

“I guess not.”

“That’s right. I hate sweating and exercising makes me do that.”

“But we still make him do them,” says Raiden. “Come on. Help me drag the boxing dummy in here.”

I follow him to a corner and gaze at the life-sized human dummy standing there. It’s made of thick blue plastic and its feet are attached to a spring.

He asked me to help but he ends up single-handedly dragging the whole thing to the center of the floor.

“You’re skilled enough to fight,” Raiden says. “I have no doubts there. However, when it comes to standing up to an alpha male, your chances of winning slim down to zero.”

He slowly starts circling me, letting his gaze sweep over me in an analytical way. “Your stature and weight put you at a disadvantage. Your best defense against an alpha would be a combination of surprise and targeted, effective hits.”

I hate listening to him say I’m no match for Callahan but he’s being honest, and I appreciate him for that.

“Use this dummy to hone your hits,” he says. “Make sure every punch and every kick hits the right target, especially under the eyes, nose, knees, and...the groin.”

Julian snorts from the corner.

I don’t laugh or grin. Raiden’s discouraging reality check has been enough to make me take this seriously.

Stepping back, I kick at the dummy’s crotch.

It bounces back, its plastic arms coming right at my face.

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