Read Roar (Witches & Warlocks Book 3) for Free Online Page B

subject which is fine with me. Work flies by as usual and I’m almost sad when Noah doesn’t show up to walk me home. I told him I was working late tonight. Figured if I told him I was going to the gym, he might want to go with me and that if I told him why I was going to the gym, he might try to stop me. So I lied. And that doesn’t feel so good right now.
    But I can’t focus on that so I gather my wits about me on the bus ride across town to BAM! Fitness. As the sun dips below the horizon line and the wind starts rocking the bus, I hope Albert keeps the gym warm because I’m really second guessing the little shorts and tank top I’d shoved into my gym bag before I left for work. I snuggle deeper into my coat and stay there until we arrive at my stop.
    BAM! Fitness is formidable on the outside. All red and black and reflective windows that don’t let you see inside. The words Welcome to the Wolf Den are etched into the blacked out glass of the front doors in haphazard script. I guess that’s what you’d call hiding in plain sight.
    I didn’t need to worry about being cold inside. A warm blast of musty air hits me in the face as I pull open the big door. Yuck. Nothing like stale sweat and humidity to make a girl feel like getting fit. There’s a monster of a man behind the front desk, his biceps abusing the thin cotton of his t-shirt. He nods in my direction and sizes me up. I’ve never felt more out of place. Ever. And that’s saying a lot.
    “Help you?” he asks, not really trying to cover up the grin making its way across his face. Ya. I get it, buddy. I’m not exactly BAM! Fitness material.
    “Is Albert here?” I ask with a smile. Maybe name dropping this guy’s alpha will buy me a little street cred. I can’t stand being underestimated.
    Xavier — his name’s embroidered on his poor t-shirt — scowls. “You got an appointment?” So much for street cred.
    “Nah,” I try to brush off his dismissive attitude with even more dismissive attitude of my own. “Just an old friend. I know this is his club. Thought he might like to give me the tour.”
    Xavier looks skeptical and picks up the phone, punches a few buttons and asks me my name. “There’s a Zoe Tate here to see you,” he says after a pause. Surprise lifts the guy’s eyebrows and he regards me a little more intently than I’d like. I know vamps can smell my magic, as disgusting as that is. Suddenly I’m wondering if this guy knows I’m a witch in the same way I know he’s a wolf.
    “He’ll be right out.”
    I just nod and wander over to a display of supplements and protein bars, trying not to get distracted by the monstrous men — and women — grunting and scowling in the weight room down the hall. I don’t have to try long. A door swings open and Albert steps into the atrium, all smiles and gruff, stubbly beard.
    “Zoe! What a pleasure!” He’s holding the door open and my heart stops as I see who else is coming through. It’s like in a movie when the director gets all cinematic. I see one long leg ending in a spiky heel extend out into the atrium and follow that alabaster skin up to a designer dress. There’s the swish of black hair and a flare of red lips and suddenly, I’m staring right into Lucy’s face.
     

Chapter Six
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Thank God I thought to bring a gym bag, just in case. I take a breath and adjust the strap on my shoulder, make sure Lucy has a chance to see that I’m perfectly equipped to be in a gym, even though this really isn’t the kind of gym I belong in.
    “Zoe!” She draws out my name in mock surprise, as if she couldn’t be more pleased to see me. “Whatever brings you out to our little wolf den?” I don’t think I’ve ever seen teeth that white.
    I shrug and duck my head, trying to remember what it felt like to be shy and awkward and not comfortable in my own skin. That’s the Zoe Lucy remembers. She has no need to know how strong I’ve gotten.
    Albert claps a big