Almost everyone in Never has a secret, and by comparison, Wayne’s isn’t exactly earth-shattering. He’s keen to keep a lid on it, nevertheless, because despite his air of long-riding, rough-sleeping, careworn experience on the trail, his backside had never touched a saddle before heading out West. He’d read plenty of books about gunslingers and cowboys–everything he could find, in fact, all the while knowing that most of it was bullshit. He’d let himself dream, and when dreaming wasn’t enough–when he’d started feeling like a fox in a trap, ready to gnaw off his own leg for freedom–he’d jumped on a stagecoach and kept going until he came up against the very edge of civilization. He arrived in Never out of money and almost out of hope. Little did he know that hope was a kind of currency all its own, and that plenty of the creatures in the town’s dusty shadows had smelled it on him as soon as he stepped off the stage.

A quick bargain later and he was a real cowhand. When all that trail-weary romance and true-grit wisdom sits uncomfortably on his shoulders or feels greasy on his skin… He doesn’t let himself think about it.

Willard Storen is a man who knows how to stay under the radar. With a steady, amiable demeanor, he runs a modest ranch just outside the mysterious town of Never with his sister, Alice. Though Willard is human and lacks any supernatural abilities, he has been surrounded by the supernatural his entire life, particularly through his witch sister. Growing up, Willard witnessed the strange forces at work but learned early on to keep his mouth shut and his head down.

His quiet ambition is rooted in a deep well of tragedy: Years ago, he lost his wife and young daughter to a sudden, violent accident that left him with both grief and a profound sense of helplessness. He had done everything to protect them, to provide, but the world, it seemed, was indifferent. That loss hardened Willard in ways most people never see. He learned to keep his emotions tightly controlled, burying the sorrow deep within while nurturing a quiet resilience.

The ranch he now runs with Alice was meant to be a fresh start, a way to build something steady and secure. But despite his calm, amiable nature, Willard never fully healed from the pain of his past. He keeps his personal life private, his secrets guarded, and his ambitions modest. In a town like Never, where things are never as they seem, Willard’s ability to keep a secret has become one of his greatest strengths. He’s trusted by most, seen as reliable and steady, but few realize the depths of loss that lie beneath his unflappable exterior. In the end, Willard knows that sometimes, it’s the quiet ones who are the most dangerous… and the most haunted.