Goliaths of Wrestling Series by Lily Mayne

I, Taylor Hough, am a painfully average guy.I have the soul-destroying corporate job, I iron my underpants, and I was unceremoniously dumped for an influencer hippie a few years ago. Every day feels the same, and I don’t know how much longer I can cope before I do something unhinged like rip off my shirt in the middle of my co-worker’s office birthday party and smear lemon cake all over my chest... moreI, Taylor Hough, am a painfully average guy.I have the soul-destroying corporate job, I iron my underpants, and I was unceremoniously dumped for an influencer hippie a few years ago. Every day feels the same, and I don’t know how much longer I can cope before I do something unhinged like rip off my shirt in the middle of my co-worker’s office birthday party and smear lemon cake all over my chest.But then a case of mistaken identity suddenly lands me in the middle of a covert professional wrestling league, which is apparently being run in the basement of my office building. Weird. Even weirder are the wrestlers. They seem… otherworldly. So does the rest of the staff. And the audience. Pretty much everyone except boring old me.And then there's the owner, Holt Hector, with whom I have an extremely embarrassing first encounter. He’s ridiculously attractive, even in the inhuman cosplay get-up he's wearing that only makes him hotter, if I'm being totally honest.Then I discover it’s not a costume. And that the show put on by Goliaths of Wrestling every night is more monstrous reality than mindblowing special effects.My previously boring life is suddenly no longer quite so average, and hot-as-hell Holt is inexplicably as interested in me, and my ironed underpants, as I am in him and his strange new world. less

LarkinLook, here’s the thing.I’m young, carefree, and my job as the assistant to Holt, manager and owner of the Goliaths of Wrestling, means I’m surrounded by half-naked beefcake wrestlers all day. Of course I’m going to be interested in… getting to know them all better. It would be, like, illegal for me to not lust after them all, right?There’s just one hurdle I have to get over first before I can… get to know the wrestlers in the way I want... moreLarkinLook, here’s the thing.I’m young, carefree, and my job as the assistant to Holt, manager and owner of the Goliaths of Wrestling, means I’m surrounded by half-naked beefcake wrestlers all day. Of course I’m going to be interested in… getting to know them all better. It would be, like, illegal for me to not lust after them all, right?There’s just one hurdle I have to get over first before I can… get to know the wrestlers in the way I want. And that hurdle makes me really, really freaking nervous.So I come up with an amazing idea. Holt’s bodyguard Seb, a werewolf, is the quiet, dependable, calm presence in the office. He’s safe. He’s not as intimidating as the wrestlers, and we’re kind of buddies, so I decide to ask him for help with my little… predicament.Just for some practice. Before I move onto the big leagues. That’s all it is. Practice.SebI’m the foolish old wolf who’s pined after Larkin since the moment he started working here. I’ve had to watch him flirt with all the wrestlers, listen to him talk about how much he wants them, act like I didn’t care, and it’s never gotten easier.At least no one knows. And I can never tell him. He’s too young for me, too carefree and irresponsible, and he’s never shown even a hint of being interested in me that way. Mentally, I’ve accepted it. My heart, however, is a different matter.And then he comes to me with a ridiculous proposition. Something I never thought I’d get to experience, something I should absolutely turn down, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough to deny myself. And I want to help Larkin in any way I can.It’s just practice for him. I have to keep reminding myself of that, every time I get to touch him—every time he’s pressed against me, every time he falls asleep on my chest. He doesn’t want me. He just wants… lessons. Practice.That’s all it is. Practice. less

RafeI really, really don’t like my neighbour.We’ve lived next door to each other for three years, and we couldn’t be more opposite. I’m a quiet, introverted ghoul with a small friend group and a love of true crime podcasts and tabletop role-playing games. Dan Ewen a party boy with an endless string of ‘guests’ who likes to blare country music all night... moreRafeI really, really don’t like my neighbour.We’ve lived next door to each other for three years, and we couldn’t be more opposite. I’m a quiet, introverted ghoul with a small friend group and a love of true crime podcasts and tabletop role-playing games. Dan Ewen a party boy with an endless string of ‘guests’ who likes to blare country music all night. He’s loud, inconsiderate, messy, loud, a total dudebro… did I mention loud?And when I start my new job as IT manager at Goliaths of Wrestling, an underground supernatural wrestling organisation, I quickly discover that my terrible dullahan neighbour is now my new colleague. Great.I still don’t like him. It doesn’t change anything. I can avoid him at work. But when I spot him one night through his living room window doing something that is utterly shocking, obscene, really weird… I find myself thinking about my annoying neighbour. A lot.All the time, actually.Oh no.DanThat neighbour of mine is a cute, surly ghoul whose pretty green eyes and angry scowl just make me want to rile him up even more.We’ve never really been buddies, despite living side by side for three years. But when he starts working at Goliaths as our IT manager, helping to bring us into a new digital age, our lives begin to become a bit more entangled.Mainly because he starts watching me each night while I… relax. So I make sure to give him a good show through my living room window.I’ve always assumed Rafe Hare is straight, but it quickly becomes clear that I might be wrong. And when I propose a fantastic new way for us to get… ahem… friendlier, he’s as all-in as I am.Which means I get to show him just how weird it can get with a dullahan. And I can’t wait. less

High Lord CrossbodyI’ve given up a lot to pursue a career in professional wrestling, and I’m not going to have it all derailed by an uncouth ghoul with a huge chip on his shoulder, who decided he disliked me for no reason on his very first day at Goliaths.Vince Burke has been the thorn in my side for five long years, but things have taken a turn for the worse. The management is threatening to get involved... moreHigh Lord CrossbodyI’ve given up a lot to pursue a career in professional wrestling, and I’m not going to have it all derailed by an uncouth ghoul with a huge chip on his shoulder, who decided he disliked me for no reason on his very first day at Goliaths.Vince Burke has been the thorn in my side for five long years, but things have taken a turn for the worse. The management is threatening to get involved. I refuse to let Burke take the life I’ve worked so hard to build from me, so I try to be on my best behaviour at work, but something about him just gets to me. He consumes my thoughts. I can’t stand him.And when something happens between us that leaves me feeling completely unmoored, I find myself thinking about him constantly. He’s taken all the control, and I need to get it back. Because I liked it too much, and I can’t let myself feel that way about him.Vince “Rolling Rimmer” BurkeI love everything about my job as a professional wrestler at Goliaths of Wrestling, an underground supernatural wrestling organisation. I love the showmanship. The costumes. The crowds. The ring and the arena. My co-workers.Well, except one.High Lord Crossbody, the royal fae who’s an actual prince, is a pompous snob and a pain in my backside. Everything about him rankles me—his clipped drawl, his disdainful sneer, his stupid long legs and eerily perfect face and sultry hooded eyes…I hate everything about him. I do. So when our mutual dislike boils over in a very public argument, then explodes into something even hotter and completely inappropriate, I’m left confused and even more annoyed.Because now I want him. And I hate that I want him. less