Chapter Nine
Nine
Atlas
Saturday mornings were one of my favorite times to hit the gym early.
Four a.m. might seem obscene to some people, but I liked working out without an audience.
While everyone was tucked safe and warm in their beds, sleeping off their hangovers from the night before, I was praying in the iron chapel.
My headphones blared some loud-as-fuck song into my ears as I grunted, heaving the loaded bar up over my body.
Just another rep, I told myself as my muscles burned, the satisfying ache spurring me on.
Push yourself just a little further.
Be better today than you were yesterday.
But it was hard to keep my focus when all I could think about was her.
Ever since the wedding, my thoughts seemed to gravitate back to Tegan.
On my way to the gym this morning, I smiled wide when I passed by the dark window of the bakery. If I wanted to see her again, I couldn’t just stand around, waiting for fate to intervene. I had to take action.
Maybe I’d stop by when I left today—if I left at a reasonable hour.
Today I was manning the front desk for one of my trainers, Chai.
She’d been having some medical issues lately, so I’d been filling in to pick up the slack.
It was a nice change from the day-to-day minutiae of the office work I was used to doing.
I missed interacting with clients and helping them achieve their goals, whether it was weight loss or getting ripped.
I was particularly fond of the getting-ripped part.
When my set was finished, I placed the bar back on the rack and took a deep swig from my water bottle. Beads of sweat matted the fur on my forehead and dripped down into my eyes. I wiped it away with my towel before putting my hat on backward, pulling my ears through the holes at the top.
Catching my reflection in the mirror, I took a moment to look at myself. Really look at myself.
I was hot, right?
The heated gazes Tegan gave me at the wedding made me think so.
It was such a stark contrast from the way Jade looked at me.
If my body comp was anything less than perfect, she made me feel like shit about it.
And then there was Tegan, eye-fucking me while she force-fed me cake, telling me I looked great exactly how I was.
It was refreshing.
Kael, one of our first members, sat down on the weight bench next to mine. He was a massive orc who owned the auto shop outside of town. The guy could bench a crazy amount of weight. Clients like him were the reason I bought the best equipment I could.
“Getting your workout in early this morning, Atlas?” Kael asked. I could just barely make out what he was saying over my music.
I pulled my earbuds out so we could have an actual conversation. “Yep. You know I like it when it’s quiet.”
He tugged his lifting gloves onto his large green hands. “Same.”
“You like being a member here so far?” I asked. I wanted to make sure my guests were having a good experience, so I always asked for feedback from our members.
“Oh yeah, it’s great. Open twenty-four hours, plenty of equipment. Uh, there’s something I wanted to ask you about, though.” I could have sworn his green cheeks flushed a little. “Are classes included with the platinum membership?”
“Yeah, unlimited classes are included with the platinum membership. Were you thinking of taking something?” Well, color me intrigued. I couldn’t imagine him taking a spin class. Maybe he was asking about BJJ or tae kwon do.
He grunted as he set up his bar. “I was considering it.” He stepped closer to me and lowered his voice an octave. “Do you know which class that cute pixie teaches?”
And there it was.
The cute pixie, Ellie, taught the gym’s Jazzercise class. Her sprite-like body dressed in tight, bright spandex bounced around the stage as she motivated a class full of mostly older women.
I laughed under my breath at the thought of Kael taking a Jazzercise class. The guy didn’t exactly exude grace. “That’s Ellie. She teaches the Jazzercise class.”
Kael’s mouth curved into a smirk, his shiny white tusks digging into his thin upper lip. “Hmm. Well, it looks like I’ll be signing up for Jazzercise, then.”
“That bad, huh? Well, I’ll make sure I’m here that day. It’ll be entertaining,” I said with a smile.
“Hey, man, I have some moves,” he said with a straight face. It sent us both into a fit of laughter.
I checked my watch and hopped off the weight bench. “Shit, I gotta get ready to work the desk. Have a great workout, Kael.”
He popped his earbuds into his tiny green ears and waved me off.
In the locker room, I lifted my arms and took a whiff of my armpits.
Shower it is.
I stepped into one of the private stalls, the tile floor clicking beneath my clawed feet. I put my hat in my bag, pulled my sweat-dampened tank top over my head, and slipped my shorts and underwear off my waist. Adjusting the tap, I started the water and stepped under the spray once it was warm.
I let out a groan, rolling my neck. The hot water felt amazing on my sore muscles. I had some serious delayed-onset muscle soreness going on because I’d been pushing myself so hard in the gym, but this was all I had right now.
I placed my palms on the cool tiled wall, letting the water cascade over my head and down the wide expanse of my back.
I was deep in thought when my stomach growled loudly, the sound bouncing off the walls around me.
Fuck, I was hungry.
I wished I had more of Tegan’s cupcakes.
The night of the wedding, I went home and thought about her while I jerked off. Thought about how gorgeous she looked in that dress, and how gorgeous she’d look with it off.
My cock stirred at the image of her naked body tangled in my sheets, her cheeks flushed pink from a nice thorough fuck.
I grabbed my cock, giving it a few rough pumps, lightly thrusting my hips.
I wondered if she could take all of me. Wolven males were different from human men. Bigger. Thicker. Primal. Feral.
Would she be able to keep up?
I wanted to find out.
Faster and faster, I fucked my fist, thinking about her tight cunt clenching my cock.
My knot started to swell.
Fuck.
She wouldn’t be able to take it. Not right away at least. Even if she couldn’t, I’d still fill her up and take her again and again.
Give her my cum until my balls were drained and my body was spent. Make her beg for it.
Breed her, even.
Not right away, but maybe someday if she wanted it. The idea of her carrying my babies made my spine tingle.
“Shit. Shit,” I groaned as thick ropes of cum shot out of my cock, coating my fists and the shower wall in front of me.
When I finally came down from my orgasm, I realized just how out of left field the thought that sent me over the edge was.
Where the fuck did that come from?
I didn’t really have a breeding kink, and that was an insane thought to have about a woman I hadn’t even kissed yet.
The spray of the shower sent my cum down the drain and I splashed a few handfuls on the wall to take care of the mess I’d made.
I know, I know.
Jerking off in the shower of the gym I owned was pretty fucking gross, but I knew for a fact that I wasn’t the only one to do it.
Things went on here. I wasn’t blind to them. I could smell the bodily fluids and pheromones that covered this place like a thick fog. At least I employed a good cleaning staff.
After soaping up my body, I rinsed and toweled off before getting dressed for the day. I wore my standard “uniform”: a Leviathan Fitness tank top and pair of mid-thigh athletic shorts that showed off my quads.
I tried to tame my fur in the mirror, but it was no use. The thick whorls of gray and black hair were determined to stick up in every direction. Sighing, I slipped my hat back on and headed down to the main floor.
—
The afternoon stretched on in what felt like an endless stream of phone calls and greeting clients. I was starting to get hungry again. Being a weightlifting wolven was similar to being a bottomless pit.
I took my shaker bottle out of my bag and fished around in the mini fridge I kept behind the desk for my oat milk. After splashing in a generous amount, I dumped in my protein powder and gave it a vigorous shake.
The stuff tasted like a mixture of chalk and Froot Loops, but if I wanted to maintain my physique, I had to ingest a crazy amount of protein.
I just about spit out my shake when I saw a messy bun of strawberry blonde hair bobbing through the doorway, heading right up to me at the front desk.
Shit.
It was her.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My fucking tail just kept thwapping against everything. It couldn’t seem to control itself when she was around.
Holy fuck, was she cute. Today she was dressed in tight black high-waisted leggings and a crop top that said “3rd Annual Briar Glenn Bake-Off.” A band of soft skin peeked out from beneath the hem of her shirt.
I wanted to lick it. Worship every inch of her body with my tongue until she couldn’t take any more.
She was close, and her expression brightened when she saw me.
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
My body swayed from the force of my tail.
Get it together, Atlas.
She’s going to think you’re a total creep.
When she got to the front desk, she looked up at me through her lashes, flashing me a smile that made my heart race.
“Hi, Atlas.”