Semua Bab Howl between us: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Chapter One — The Girl Who Burned BridgesThe city never slept, not even when the moon was high and full, casting silvery light over the glittering glass towers of Crescent City. Neon signs buzzed. Taxi horns echoed. Humans hurried down sidewalks with coffee in one hand and stress in the other. Somewhere, music thumped from a club basement. And inside a tiny, too-warm coffee shop tucked between a bookstore and a vape lounge, Riley Hart was pretending not to exist.She’d gotten good at that. Blending in. Staying just enough under the radar to avoid triggering supernatural senses, but not so off-grid that it raised red flags. She poured lattes, snarked at hipsters, and listened to old punk rock through one AirPod while she cleaned the espresso machine with the kind of focus usually reserved for brain surgery.Her shift ended in six minutes. Not that she was counting.“Excuse me, miss? This isn’t almond milk.”Riley didn’t even turn around. “It’s not?”“No. I can taste the difference. Th

Chapter Three — Scratches in the SilenceJaxon Vale didn’t like loose ends.Especially not the kind with storm-grey eyes and a past that kept vanishing every time he tried to follow it.He stood in the security room on the first floor of the Vale Pack compound, watching grainy footage from last night’s rescue. In one video frame, Riley shifted mid-air, barely visible in the motion blur as she shielded the child with her body. In the next, she was already back in her human skin, eyes glowing like firelight.She looked… raw. Powerful. Dangerous in a way that didn’t come from brute strength.That was what worried him.“You know she’s not telling you everything,” said Theo, his beta and childhood friend, standing beside him with arms folded.“I know,” Jaxon said, dragging the timeline forward. “But she saved that kid. Broke her cover to do it.”“Doesn’t mean she’s innocent.”“No,” Jaxon murmured. “But it means she’s not heartless.”He paused the video on her face — mid-turn, blood drippin

Chapter Five — The Ghost on Fifth StreetIt was barely sunrise, but Crescent City was already buzzing with traffic and tension.Riley sat in the passenger seat of Jaxon’s SUV, trying not to bite her nails — a habit she thought she’d broken years ago. The scent of city exhaust and wet pavement wafted through the cracked window, mixing with the underlying tang of supernatural anxiety.Jaxon was unusually quiet as he drove. Focused. Controlled. Not in the cocky, self-assured way she’d first pegged him, but in the way someone gets when they know something ugly is waiting at the end of the road.They were headed to Fifth Street — the city’s unofficial border between neutral wolf territory and what the Council called unclaimed land. In reality, it was a dead zone. Rogues, exiles, magic-users. No pack laws. No protection. And definitely no backup.Exactly where Riley used to live.“Are you sure this source of yours is reliable?” Jaxon asked without taking his eyes off the road.“She was the

Chapter 7 – The Smell of SecretsRiley’s fingers trembled slightly as she tore open the envelope that had been slipped under her apartment door. It wasn’t the first anonymous note she’d received in the past week, but this one felt heavier—like the paper itself was soaked in foreboding. It read, “He’s watching you. Just like he did before.”She didn’t need a name to know who “he” was.The scent of danger clung to the paper like old cologne. Not from Jaxon this time—something darker, older, familiar in a way that made her stomach churn. The letters were written in black ink, smudged in places as though written in haste… or with trembling hands.She shoved it into the drawer with the others and slammed it shut.The last time she’d let herself feel truly vulnerable was years ago, and she’d promised never again. But somehow, ever since Jaxon stormed into her life with his maddening confidence and frustrating smirks, the walls she’d spent years fortifying were cracking—bit by bit.She hated

Chapter 9 — Ghosts in the BloodThe door creaked open fully, and Jaxon stepped inside without waiting for an invitation. He didn’t have to ask—he could already feel it in the air. Something heavy clung to the room like soot after a fire. Fear. Confusion. Guilt.Riley looked like she hadn’t slept. Her hair was a mess, her sweatshirt was on inside out, and there were books and papers scattered all over the living room floor. In the middle of the chaos was a weathered leather-bound volume—its pages torn and filled with cryptic scientific jargon and unsettling illustrations.He scanned it, then looked at her. “Are you going to tell me what this is?”She nodded slowly, lowering herself to the floor and motioning for him to join her. He hesitated for a beat before dropping to his knees across from her, careful not to touch anything just yet.“It’s from them,” she said, her voice rough. “From the place I escaped. The place they kept me before I… became this.”Jaxon tensed. “Who are they?”Sh