Breathing Styles Novels & Stories

He looked calm and steady. "Your breathing is way too fast," Axel noted. He took a slow, deep breath in through his nose to demonstrate. "You are working yourself into a panic attack. I need you to match my breathing. We are going to inhale for four seconds, and we are going to exhale for four seconds." I wanted to argue because my mind was racing with terrible scenarios, but Axel maintained his steady eye contact. He inhaled again. I forced myself to follow his lead. I drew a shaky breath into my tight lungs.

“Breath. Body. Boundary. Tonight we practice until you can hold yourself steady when the pull comes.” “What pull?” “You already know,” he said. We kept walking until the house lights were gone. The woods felt bigger than they had yesterday — not darker, just closer, like they’d leaned in. “Breath first,” Kai said. “In through the nose. Out through the mouth. Longer on the out.” The first breath caught halfway. The second scraped. By the sixth, my chest loosened and the hum softened. “Good,” he said. “Body next. Touch wrist, collarbone, sternum. Name what you feel.”

Instinctively, I open up to let him in and that's when I drag in the first breath of air. I tear my mouth away from his as I gulp in several times, battling to breathe once again. “Lily, look at me. Try to breathe slowly, like this. In. Out. In. Out.” While he says this, his eyes are pinned on mine and he's doing the breathing exercise along with me. I follow his leading, inhaling when he does and exhaling when he does, mirroring his actions and searching his face like it has all the answers I need.

“Fine. Show me.” Kai moved behind me, his chest brushing my back. His hands settled lightly on my shoulders. “Breathe in slow through your nose… deep into your belly. Hold it. Then let it out even slower through your mouth. Like this.” He demonstrated, his breath warm against my ear. “Try it.” I closed my eyes and copied him. In… hold… out. It felt weird at first, but his voice stayed steady and kind. “Good. Again. Longer hold this time. You’re doing great.”

-Skylar- Suddenly, the pain stopped and everything around me looked completely different. Not in the sense that I was in a new environment, the way I was seeing everything was different. It was like I had a new pair of eyes; everything was much sharper. My nose filled with the most beautiful scent, cinnamon, my nose followed the scent, landing on Aspen. I looked at him, only to see him looking at me with complete and utter shock. I tried to get out some words, wanting to ask what was wrong, but nothing came out apart from a howl. Why was I howling?

My blue eyes aren’t helping either, too bright, too noticeable. I open a drawer and pull out a small black bottle. Not cologne. Pheromones. Alpha pheromones. I spray it liberally on the chest, neck, and wrists. Then raise my arm to my nose and inhale. Strong. Sharp. Synthetic. But effective. Satisfied, I tuck the bottle into my pocket and head out.

15 Hayden A few hours ago A small grunt escaped my throat as I pushed the heavy weights from my body, focusing on my breathing despite the heavy soreness of my arms. One more round, and I am done. Just one more. Breathing deep through my nose and slowly pulling the heavy weights down to my chest. Holding them there for two more seconds, I pushed, exhaling through my nose and keeping the bar on the rack. I sighed, taking the face towel and wiping the sweat off my brows.