All Chapters of Our Broken Howls : Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

Seraphina POVThe moon hall was silent after the names were mentioned. The silence stretches across the face of the pack members which makes the wall so dense and tight. I could hear my heart beating loud and heavy. The wooden chair I sat on bit into my thighs so painfully that it made my thigh go numb. I sat staring at the back of Kaelen’s head, shiny black hair under the bright light, his stillness, eyes didn't even twitch. The Elder council man, Elder Morrison clears his throat to break the silence. His thick voice carries the weight of authority, echoing and bouncing off the stone walls. I flinched at his voice. “The binding terms are as follows. Both parties will undergo a three-day preparation period, followed by the ceremonial bonding under the next full moon.”Three days to prepare? How could they even think of going against the Moongoddess herself. Three days until I’m tied to him like a dog on a chain.He continues. “During this time, both families will negotiate the terms

Sera POVIt was six in the morning. The rays of the sunlight were already piercing through the curtains, and laying golden lines on the floor and on my breast. I opened my eyes and blocked the rays from entering my eyes when suddenly I froze. My heart was beating like I was being chased by wild beasts, as I made out a very faint thrum from downstairs. My chest felt very uncomfortable with the rhythmic vibration. It was very clear that Kaelen was moving around downstairs. I was very conscious, heart hammering in my head and for a second, I could only listen. It felt like I was begging and trying to empty my head and body of the sound, as if I could just deaden my body, as if I could just disappear and no one would find me in the house.That is when it struck me, the scent of the dark coffee, intoxicatingly dark. I feel my stomach aching. I went down the steps and entered the kitchen and saw a coffee cup before me in the kitchen counter. It was like a lifeline, I haven't eaten since la

Sera POVI don't sleep. How can I sleep knowing someone was watching me? I sit on my bed staring at the broken camera in my hands until the sun comes up. The plastic is cracked where I ripped it out, but the lens is still intact. Still recording everything until I destroyed it.When Kaelen comes downstairs for his perfectly timed coffee, I'm waiting in the kitchen with the camera on the table between us."Explain this," I say.He stops in the doorway. Looks at the device. His face goes blank. "What is it?""Don't play stupid. It was in my smoke detector. Pointed at my bed."He sits down across from me, picks up the camera, turns it over in his hands. "This isn't ours.""Ours?""Ardyn security. Our equipment is different. Smaller. This looks commercial grade."I want to believe him. The confusion on his face looks real. But I've been fooled by him before. "So you're saying someone else put a camera

Sera POVThe bathroom in this place is bigger than my entire apartment back in Portland. Marble everywhere, gold fixtures, the kind of luxury that screams money at you until your ears bleed. I'm sitting on the edge of this massive bathtub, picking ash out of my hair and trying not to think about how close we came to dying tonight.My hands won't stop shaking.Not from the fire. Not from jumping across rooftops like some kind of action movie hero. From the way Kaelen looked at me when he thought we were going to burn alive. Like I mattered. Like losing me would actually hurt him.Which is bullshit, obviously. This is the same guy who humiliated me in front of half the school, who called me unworthy in front of the entire pack two weeks ago. People don't just change because of one stupid fire.Do they?I splash cold water on my face and catch my reflection in the mirror. Jesus, I look like hell. Soot streaks, singed eyebrows, eyes all red and puffy. Real attractive. No wonder Kaelen's b