A gym-owning wolven and a headstrong baker discover howl real their connection is in the first book of the beloved Leviathan Fitness series.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Muscles and Monsters by Ashley Bennett, which releases on February 10th 2026.
After a wedding cake catastrophe on the street, local baker Tegan lands in the most unexpected place—a solid wall of fur and fangs named Atlas. She’s never met anyone like him and finds herself enamored by his wolfish charm. After their sweet encounter, Atlas invites her to his gym anytime she needs his cake-lifting services.
However, Tegan is through with being a damsel in distress. She signs up for a membership with Leviathan Fitness, determined to build her strength…and if she sees the handsome wolven again, it’s a win-win scenario.
Atlas can’t believe his eyes when Tegan walks through the doors of his gym, and nearly goes snout-over-paw to offer her personal training. Shared glances over the barbell and accidental touches at the water fountain set Atlas’s heart racing in a way he swore it couldn’t again.
Primal desires emerge as Atlas and Tegan test just how much their new love can lift. Could Tegan be the unexpected mate of Atlas’s dreams?
EXCERPT
My bingo arms shook from overexertion. Yes, that’s right—bingo arms. You know, the kind all the old bats at bingo night have when they’re waving their dabbers around. Yep. At thirty, I had a set of those bad boys.
“Steady, steady. Just a little bit closer,” I said. I’m sure I looked ridiculous, talking to myself as I struggled to load the largest tier of the wedding cake into the back of my SUV.
After yesterday, I should have known Selene was going to call out sick. I was glad she wasn’t spreading her germs all over the place, but carrying the biggest tier of the cake was proving to be a real challenge.
I was so close to having the cake safely in the back of the SUV that I could almost taste the sweet, sweet flavor of victory—when disaster struck. The muscles in my right arm cramped and I gritted my teeth in agony. It felt as if time slowed. The box slid from my grip and toppled to the ground, sending hunks of red velvet coated in thick, rich cream cheese icing all over the sidewalk.
Splat.
“No, no, no,” I groaned as I rubbed my arm, trying to work out the knot.
I wanted to crawl into a hole and die. The defining cake of my career was splattered all over the ground. Luckily for me, it was the bottom tier, and I had the backup sheet cake—but it was still an embarrassing mistake. I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes as my knees hit the pavement. My lip quivered as I piled pieces of cake back into what remained of the box.
As I wiped away a tear, a giant shadow blocked out the sun. A pair of large furred feet, complete with sharp black claws, appeared in my line of sight. I looked up slowly, taking in the wall of dark gray fur standing in front of me. He was solid muscle, strong calves and thighs topped with a stomach that I’m sure had a six-pack his shirt was hiding. My eyes continued upward, over his broad chest and thick neck to his face. His muzzle was long and pointed, the fur deepening to a dark black that matched the color of his canine snout. Briar Glenn was home to a lot of monsters, but he was the first wolven I’d seen around.
Did he just move here? Is he visiting?
I would have definitely noticed him . . .
The corners of his muzzle curled up in a kind smile and his ears twitched as he looked down at me. “It looks like you’re having a bad day. Can I give you a hand?” he asked in a deep, rumbling voice.
“That—that would be great,” I sniffled. Any other cake and I would have refused, but this was a two-person job.
His body swayed back and forth slightly, a fluffy mass of gray and black popping out from one side and then the other.
A tail.
He was wagging his tail at me.
My lips twitched, fighting back a smile, because it was just so damn cute.
He bent over, his gym shorts straining against his tree-trunk thighs, as he scooped up handfuls of ruined cake with his massive, claw-tipped hands and tossed them into the box.
I stared at him for a moment, admiring the way his muscular physique flexed with his movements. Gods, he was handsome. Dirty thoughts crept into my mind, like what it would be like to feel that furred, muscular body rubbing against my naked skin. If the other aspects of his anatomy matched his stature, he would probably be more than I could handle.
I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I’d officially reached a new low. I just dropped the most important cake of my career, and now I was having sexual fantasies about someone I’d just met.
“I’m assuming this was for the wedding today?” he asked in that delicious gravelly voice.
To hide the fact that I’d been staring at him instead of helping, I grabbed a few chunks of cake and tossed them into the box. “Of course it was.” I swiped my hair out of my face, smearing icing along my brow. “Dammit!” I hissed. “This is just my luck. My assistant called out today and the cake was too heavy for me and my muscles cramped—” I was spiraling in front of a complete stranger. A hot stranger at that.
One of his icing-coated hands gripped my arm, making my breath hitch. He was so gentle, careful to avoid piercing my skin with his sharp claws. “Hey,” he said calmly—sweetly even. “It’s okay.”
I stared into his bright yellow eyes. Against his dark fur they looked like full moons on a cloudless night. I wasn’t sure if it was his words or his demeanor, but all of my embarrassment and worry slipped away.
He cleared his throat, letting go of my arm to point a clawed finger down the street. “Do you see that gym down there? Leviathan Fitness? That’s my gym.” He gestured to the T-shirt on his chest emblazoned with a tentacle holding a barbell. “Anytime you need help with a heavy cake, come see me.”
