I woke up, my stomach growling from hunger. I wiped away the crust from my eyes, still a little groggy. I slowly, quietly slipped out of bed, replacing myself with a pillow for Izzy to grip. I walked downstairs to the basement, tiptoeing my way there to not wake Izzy or Renee up. I did check up on Renee, pulling the cover on top of her after I noticed that she had kicked it off to the floor.

When I got downstairs, I immediately began running on the treadmill, happy that I had gotten Renee to soundproof the basement. I hadn't run in a week, helping with the move, so I was eager to see how long and fast I could go before I began to feel any sign of exhaustion.

Once the treadmill beeped, signifying the 30-minute mark, and I saw that my feet were blurring, I looked at the clock on the treadmill screen and saw that I still had some time to work out.

I lowered the speed until it stopped and then I went to the weightlifting bench, shifting into my minotaur form.

My muscles bulked up and horns began to protrude from the sides of my head. My face began to elongate, forming a snout. Finally, my stomach began to protrude, forming a paunchy belly. I picked up four of the sixteen 100-pound weight plates, putting them onto the left side of the weight bar, doing it another time before doing the same to the right side.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

I laid down on the backrest and began lifting the over 1600 pounds weight bar slowly, allowing my muscles to slowly contract, getting the best burn.

Another 30 minutes later, I put down the bar, sweat running down the fur on my chest. I could feel an annoying tingle in my underarms. I got off of the bench, breathing heavily. I shifted back to my human form and groaned as the burn in my muscles got a lot worse. I struggled to get up, nearly tripping over the bench trying to move off of it.

I walked upstairs to the bathroom and took a shower. When I was finished, I realized that I had forgotten to get a towel to wear. I scrunched up my face, thinking if I should just walk out of the bathroom nude. I shrugged and opened the bathroom room door, just for Izzy to be standing there, a towel in her hand. "Huh, you're bigger than I thought." she said, staring at my junk with a lewd smile on her face. I grabbed the towel from her hands and kissed her cheek.

"If you stare too long, I won't let you go, ever." I whispered in her ear.

As I made to walk past her, she grabbed my arm, looked me in my eyes and said, "Who wants you to let them go."

I smiled and kissed her on the lips this time. Her eyes widened at my kissing her lips, catching her off guard. I had never gone for it before, always tricking her by holding her nose, but she still held out hope. After she loosened up, I began to add tongue, dominating her mouth and leaving her eyes glazed over, a string of spit connecting to both of our lips. "Izzy, Alex are you guys awake?" Izzy's glazed expression ended as soon as she heard Renee speaking. I walked past her, realizing that Renee had ruined the moment. I walked into my room, drying myself with the towel and putting on my clothes.