Novels by Howler

EPILOGUEDaphne’s POV *1 year, 3 months later…. Ella twirled in the living room, her sundress spinning like a little daisy in the wind. “Mom, look! I’m a ballerina princess!” she beamed, striking a pose that looked more like a wobbly flamingo. I laughed, placing down the last plate on the table. “You are, sweetheart. The most graceful ballerina I’ve ever seen.” She giggled and spun again. Ever since baby Alex was born, she’d taken her role as big sister very seriously. She tried to change his diapers once—tried being the key word. She’d whisper stories to him at night and scold anyone who made too much noise while he napped. Today was Alex’s first birthday. Nothing grand—just a small, cozy gathering with a few good people. “Where do you want the juice boxes?” Maryam called out, holding two cartons under her arm while dragging a string of birthday flags with the other. “By the window, love,” I said, before grinning. “You know, this would be faster if you weren’t trying

Daphne’s POV As I stared at Nate’s motionless body, I didn’t know how to feel. Everything around me stilled. The air, the crowd…, the world. “Nate!” Only Claire’s scream pierced through the numbness. Her voice was ragged, shattered, the sound of a soul breaking open. My body didn’t respond. I couldn’t move. My legs were stone, locked in place as I watched her fall to her knees beside him. “Lord,—no, no.” Claire’s hands trembled violently as she pressed them against his chest. “This isn’t supposed to happen. Not now. Not when it’s finally over. Not when justice is served…” Her words cracked. “Someone, please! Call the ambulance!” Sebastian was already moving, phone pressed to his ear. He crouched beside her, pulled her against him as she sobbed. I just stood there useless. Everything that happened after that came in flashes. The cold, frigid air, and piercing ambulance sirens. The blur of red and white lights. Claire screaming at the paramedics to move faster. Nate’s body—pale,

Daphne’s POV My body shook, a buzzing filling my ears, tears blurring my vision. “I can’t believe this, Seb. I fucking can’t believe this,” I choked out, hugging him tightly, soaking his t-shirt as he held me close. “I’m happy that you’re happy, Daphne. You fought so well,” Seb whispered in my ear, his voice also shaky. Was this it? The end of Charles Sinclair? The end of the torment, the years of abuse, the never-ending cycle, all because of his selfish desires? It felt surreal. After the sentence was delivered, I watched Mom spiral. She couldn’t comprehend it, seeing the man she had placed on such a high pedestal come crashing down. Richard quickly took her away, but not before giving me a nod of acknowledgement. Seeing Mom like that tugged at my heart. She had ruined not just her life, but ours too. She had stayed with a man who repeatedly hurt her, and it had shattered me time and time again. But I had finally come to terms with it. I wasn’t responsible for her choices.

Daphne’s POV “This is the bank transaction, showing all the dirty work and exploitations,” Nathaniel said, spreading the thick sheaf of papers across the table. Sebastian’s eyes scanned the documents, his brow furrowed. “They’re rigging oil prices too,” he muttered. “Just how rich and powerful is Charles? He couldn’t have done this alone. There’s government involvement here, somewhere.” Nathaniel was back, thank God. Richard had been feeding us information over the phone, piecing together the puzzle of Charles’s illicit activities. After countless meetings with prestigious authorities, and after what felt like an eternity of legislative deliberation, we finally had it: an arrest warrant. But there was a problem. Intelligence suggested Charles was about to flee the country. Someone within the legislative body had tipped him off. Thankfully, Charles was tracked down to his private retreat, a secluded estate far from the city. The apprehension was swift and decisive. He would

Two Weeks Later “That’s great news!” I exclaimed, pulling Seb and Claire into a hug, joy bubbling inside me. We were gathered around the table, Skyping Nathaniel, who had finally gotten his hands on the NGO’s bank statements and transaction records. “I’ll be back first thing tomorrow, and the chase will finally be over,” Nathaniel muttered with a cashmere smile. It had been two long weeks since Nathaniel traveled to investigate the NGO. Given his position in the ministry, he was able to gain access quickly, posing as an agent sent by me. Charles had been notified by the NGO of my request for the bank statements. Richard informed us that he had been desperately trying to track me down, still clueless about how I’d accessed the files. He was currently hiding in one of his estates in Suncity, under the pretense of being out of town. Our investigation had uncovered vital information, including receipts for bombs and weapons purchased under Charles’s name, weapons that led to the mas

Richard’s voice cut through the heavy silence, the words pulling us against the unspoken emotions hanging in the air. “Now that everything is done, and we have the documents, with Charles’s signature… all you have to do is sign, and the NGO is legally yours.” His jaw was clenched and his gaze distant. He tried to hold it together after Mother left, but I could see the cracks forming. This was just as hard for Richard as it was for me, maybe even harder. Mother had made her choice—time and time again, she chose Father, no matter the cost. Richard kept fighting for her, trying to pull her back from the edge, but she didn’t want to be saved. She never did. Sebastian broke the tension, his voice gentle as he gathered the papers. “She will, once she finds stability. Let’s go home, Daphne you need to rest.” He drew me away from a broken Claire. I turned to Richard, my voice firm with conviction despite the ache in my chest. “Thank you, Richard, for everything. I will see to it that Cha

Rhea’s pov “Admit it dove, you came here for me,” he said, low and rough, voice sliding over me like fire. “Or maybe… you came because you wanted me to want you.”I swallowed hard. My pulse betrayed me, a frantic drum in my ears. “I’m here because I despise you to the moment of wanting to wipe you off existence,” I countered even as my body heated with a truth I refused to admit.His heterochromatic eyes flared, alive and dangerous, consuming me entirely. “Liar,” he murmured, inching closer, hands hovering near my waist. “I can feel the truth crawling under your skin. You ache for me. Every fiber of you does.”Goosebumps rose where his fingers brushed lightly against my arms. Just the ghost of a touch, and I was already trembling. I wanted to shove him away. I wanted to push myself from this madness. And yet I could not.“You feel that,” he whispered, leaning close. Breath warm against my cheek. “This pull, this fire. Your blood is calling to me as much as mine calls to you. Tell me

Rhea’s POVI moved like a shadow slipping through cracks. The cold night clung to my skin as if trying to pull me back, whispering warnings along my spine. My bare feet kissed the stone floors in soft, trembling steps. My wolf snarled inside me, pacing, restless, her eyes wide with fear. “Don’t do this Rhea” Her voice hit me in sharp pulses. “Run, Rhea. Run before you lose yourself completely. Before you do something you can never undo.”I swallowed hard and pressed my palm against my chest. “I am ending this. I am doing what no one else has ever dared.”“What makes you think you can do it?”Her question slid through me like a challenge.“What makes me different?” I whispered, gripping the dagger tighter. “Because he killed my humanity. And this is the price he pays.”The hallway shivered with wind. Every torch along the walls flickered, painting the air with unstable shadows. I followed those shadows deeper into the forbidden part. His room. Where the air was colder, where the wall

Rhea’s POv I did not feel myself being dragged back to my room. I did not feel the guards shove me inside or hear the lock click behind me. All I felt was the trembling in my bones. All I saw was blood on my hands that was no longer there. All I heard was the Alpha’s laugh. That cruel, approving laugh as the Hulk’s body grew cold beneath me. I crawled onto the bed, pulling the duvet over my head like a frightened child, shaking so badly that the mattress groaned. The moment my face disappeared into the darkness of the blankets, the tears came. Hot, violent, endless. They slid down into my mouth, salty and warm, mixing with the dried blood at the corner of my lips. My stomach twisted, claws raking through my insides. They had taken away food. They had taken water. They said it was punishment. I knew the truth. I deserved it. I killed him. I whispered it into the sheets again and again until the words lost shape. I killed him. I killed him. I killed him. Moments later, the door c

Rhea’s POV “No…” I whispered, then louder, shaking, “No. No, this cannot be happening.” I pinched my arm so hard I felt skin break, desperate to wake up. Desperate for this to be a nightmare. But the sting stayed. The cold air stayed. The monster stayed. And that monster’s sadistic smile told me this was painfully, horrifyingly real. “This is insane!” I screamed, my voice cracking under terror. “You cannot do this!” The courtyard fell silent. Every head turned toward me with empty, frightened eyes. “What is wrong with you all?” My voice broke at the edges as I turned in circles, searching for one person with a shred of humanity. “Where is your empathy? Where is your heart? How can you watch this? How—” They stared at me as if I had committed the sin, not the Alpha. As if I was the problem, As if caring made me weak. Alpha Malric leaned back on his throne, smiling. “You look pathetic when you beg, dove. Keep going. Entertain me.” Before I could scream again, a guttural growl v

Rhea’s POV “Ouch.” The word scraped out of my throat like broken glass. My voice hardly sounded like mine. It was thin, parched, tremoring with something uglier than pain. Alpha Malric didn't care, slowly dragging my body across the rough gravel as if the friction itself was part of the punishment. Stones snagged my clothes, dry patches scraped my skin raw. “Let me go, please.” The plea slipped out before I even realized it. I couldn't think, I couldn’t even breathe. I could only beg pathetically, “I promise I’ll anything….I didn't mean any harm.… I wanted to make sure my child was alright. Please, Alpha Malric… please….” The soil smelled damp, like earth preparing to swallow something. Clouds gathered above us, thick and heavy, turning the once brilliant blue sky into a dull, sickly gray. Lightning cut through the horizon like a curse etched across the heavens. “Oh no…” “This is bad…” “She’s in trouble…” “Such a pity…” Soft whispers spread around us. Staff members and

Rhea’s POV: The comm-seal hissed like burning wires, the words on the other side mangled into something unrecognizable. My chest thudded in panic. “H….hello?” I whispered again. But instead of a reply, a loud screech tore from the other side, like metal shredding. Suddenly, the lights in the room snapped. Flickering and casting bizarre shapes on the wall. “What… what is happening?” My hands trembled, everything about this moment felt… wrong! The door slammed open and Lyria ran inside her eyes wide and distorted, not the usually composed Lyria I was starting to know, “Oh moon goddess Rhea! What in the fucks world did you do?!”My lips quivered, unable to give a straight answer and a violent gust of wind knocked us off our feet. I hit my head hard on the concrete, feeling the warm, mettalic blood pool in my mouth.“I’m so sorry…., I… didn't know this will happen,” I stammered, shaking like a leaf under her glare.“Didn’t know?!” Her voice cracked, sharp with disbelief and fear. “I wa