Rayden DeLuca comes from a long line of Italian werewolves. He learned about loss early in his life. Even with a royal bloodline, he had to endure far more than most his age. He managed. He found his focus. He was able to plan his future, and plan it he did, to the smallest detail.
Step one was to finish his business degree so that he can go home and take over what was his birthright. Might not be what he wanted, but he had an obligation to his grandfather, to his blood.
Step two was to ensure the people he loved were taken care of, even if he wasn’t close. He learned a long ago that family didn’t start with blood and he would do whatever he needed to protect them.
Step three was to deal with his psychotic mother once and for all before he left. He would never give her what she wanted, not after what she did to get it in the first place. It was placed under his protection, and that’s exactly what he intended to do.
He had a plan, and he was determined to stick to it. He didn’t have time for love, even with a hole that has steadily been growing in his chest since he was eleven. He learned a very important truth that day. He also learned that a monster like him didn’t deserve to be whole.
Alice Black has been having a bad day for most of her life. She grew up without. Without a real family, a real home. She was shoved from pilar to post because no one wanted her. She’s had to fight for survival at every turn. It made her strong; mentally, emotionally, and even physically when she needed it. Being a survivor made her resilient. It also turned her into a recluse.
Experience taught her that she could only trust herself, depend on herself. She worked hard for the little bit that she had, but always ended up moving on to the next town eventually. She never felt like she belonged anywhere. Pine Creek was a fresh start. A place no one knew her, and no one would. She had her work, she had her art. More than that she didn’t need.
Yet something was missing, a hole in her chest that she couldn’t seem to fill, that maybe she wasn’t meant to fill. If her crappy life was anything to go by, she simply didn’t deserve to be whole.
Their two worlds were about to collide.
