All Chapters of Howl for Justice : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

The city stretches beneath me, flickering like the reckless hope I’ve let take root. I lean against the kitchen island, the wine glass cold in my hand, thoughts running hot and fast. The calendar hangs nearby, its red circle a mark of my own defiance. The invitation is a silent provocation, promisin

The phone is warm in my hand, a fragile promise of the support I keep telling myself I don’t need. I look at Derek’s name on the screen, my thumb hovering over it, feeling the pull of everything he complicates, everything he simplifies. My senses are raw, the room too bright, too loud, my skin too t

I almost don’t pick up, letting it ring in my hand like an accusation, like a promise I might regret. But I know she’ll keep calling. Mara’s never been one to let things go. Not when she’s this close. Her voice is tight, careful, an admission she needs me that she can’t quite say. I feel my resolve

He moves like smoke, obscuring then revealing with careful grace. I expect him to speak first, to set the rhythm of this encounter, but he surprises me by offering a silent toast instead. The flute catches the light, a crystalline pause between us. "You beat me to it," I say, accepting his challenge

The night presses close, all music and murmurs and clinking glass. We slip into an alcove where the air is thick with velvet curtains and the scent of possibilities. I feel him beside me, a shadow in this private half-light. "Tell me something real," he says, voice smooth and quiet against the din.