"Not that I'm afraid of becoming an animal. That wouldn't be too bad, but a human being can never become just an animal; he plunges beyond, into the abyss."

Marlen Haushofer, The Wall
(translated by Shaun Whiteside)

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Half-siren Alessia Wang has been luring men to their deaths since she could remember. Not particularly because she enjoys it, but because she's terminally bored and chronically mean, and she wants to see the extent to which she, of angelic face, of ethereal beauty, of male fantasy, could get away with these horrible, immoral things before anyone believes that she's capable of such morbid cruelty.

Everyone wants to love her, to be loved by her, to possess her, to earn her favour in exchange for favours, but no one ever wants to get to know her, and no one ever wants to disagree with anything she ever says. But the deeper they dig, the darker it gets, and everyone who's ever caught a glimpse of the true ugliness within has run away. Perhaps she prefers that. Perhaps, as much as she dares them to, she can't handle the idea of anyone truly seeing her for what she is and accepting that.

Only one person has ever come close, and she'd walked away from him.

And so the men keep coming, the police suspect a male serial killer, and everyone is compelled to look at her but no one sees the ugly, wretched creature beneath the gleaming, glamorous surface of Angharad University's star cheerleader.

Until Alessia unknowingly kills a highly ranked member of the Carter wolfpack.

Cast out of his pack for the murder of his father, lone werewolf Colton "Colt" Carter hasn't known warmth in a long time, and yet he still searches for it. His father is dead. His uncle has stolen the title of Alpha. And Colt is alone, a shell of nasty scars, an ugly and unwanted thing. A wolf cannot survive a solitary life. Colt knows he's weakened. But he's also never quite known acceptance, even if it's the only thing he's ever wanted. Even if, deep down, he knows he could be good.

When the murder of his uncle's right-hand brings a cold and emotionally avoidant half-siren to his doorstep, Colt seizes the chance to dismantle his former pack.

Now, Colt and Alessia must confront their most intimate fears and build their own in order to survive the storm.

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Havana Rose Liu     as     Alessia Wang

To be beautiful is to be hunted.

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Drew Starkey     as     Colton 'Colt' Carter

Suffer does the wolf crawling to thee.

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SOUNDTRACK.
two sides, same coin

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TRIGGER WARNING.

depictions of mental illness, suicidal ideation, some mentions of disordered eating, mentions of sexual and physical abuse, graphic violence, gore, body horror, mentions of self harm.

The romance in this book is NOT dark by nature, but this book in general will tackle very heavy topics. Please proceed with caution and as always, prioritise yourself and safety.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE.

🦢 Never would i have ever thought I'd be writing werewolf fiction. But here I am, just as bewildered as you, wondering what the fuck this is and what I intend to accomplish with it.

🦢 Well anyway. My concept here is simple. I wanted 2 characters, narrative foils, 2 sides, same coin. One of them of ethereal beauty, the kind of pretty privilege that everyone wants to please and no one can ever say anything bad to her face, someone who everyone loves or wants, but no one can ever get to know—or everyone looks at but doesn't see—because she's actually really ugly inside, and if they could see that she's actually a cruel, ugly monster beneath all the glamour, they'd run screaming. Another character of savage ugliness. Scarred all over. Canines and blood. Someone everyone lays eyes on and instantly identifies as a monster. But inside, he's just a rabbit. A coward with a golden heart. Someone desperate to be known—someone who is genuinely good and pure and beautiful on the inside and just wants to be loved.

🦢 These are Alessia and Colt. Two people who embody severe loneliness - one in self-imposed exile, another desperately fighting the fate. The only two people who have ever seen past the surface and who know each other deeply. Here's to trying to understand someone and loving them so hard you end up on the other side of them.

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DEDICATION.

Well, if you've ever loved anyone,
you know it's all-round terrifying.
So this is for you, if being known
feels like standing naked at a trial,
waiting for the sentence to drop.

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2024   © TARYN