The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Aurora

He was just there–standing in front of me like he’d been waiting.

I froze, heart climbing into my throat. He didn’t say anything. Just looked at me with those sharp, unreadable eyes. Not angry. Not soft. Just… watching.

The silence stretched, heavy and strange, until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“What?” I asked, my voice low, a little sharper than I meant. “You’re just going to stare at me?”

Zayn didn’t flinch. His expression didn’t change. But something in his eyes flickered–barely there. A twitch at the corner of his mouth,

like he was thinking through something carefully.

“You’re leaving,” he said finally. Not a question. A fact.

I blinked at him. “Were you listening?”

He didn’t answer.

Of course he was.

I looked away, jaw tight. “I wasn’t planning to stay forever, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not worried,” he said, but the words didn’t land the way they should have. Not cold. Not careless. Just… quiet.

I huffed a bitter laugh, wiping my sleeve across my cheek before the tears could fall. “Well, goo

anymore.”

don’t have to pretend

Still, he didn’t move. He didn’t argue. He just kept looking at me like I was some puzzle he couldn’t solve.

I took a step to move past him, but his voice stopped me again.

“Why did you come here?”

I turned back. “What?”

He shifted, finally, like the question had cost him something. “Moonbound isn’t exactly on the top of any human college list. You must’ve known something was off.”

“I didn’t,” I said, the frustration creeping back into my voice. “I really didn’t. My parents handled everything. I thought it was just… some

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Chapter 13

weird elite boarding school. I didn’t

know this place was full of people who could break bones without blinking.”

Zayn’s jaw flexed. “And now?”

let out a breath, slow and tired. “Now I get it. This place isn’t meant for people like me. And I’m not trying to get myself killed just to prove I can survive here.”

His eyes flicked to mine, something unreadable passing through them.

I narrowed my gaze. “How long have you known?”

He didn’t answer right away.

“That I’m human,” I added. “When did you figure it out?”

Zayn glanced away, just for a second, and I saw the answer before he said a word.

“Since the first day,” he muttered.

I blinked. “The first day?”

“The second you walked into the courtyard,” he said, quieter now, “you acted like you didn’t even notice–the wards, the way the air changed. Anyone like us would’ve picked up on it right away.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” My voice cracked with disbelief. “You knew I didn’t belong here, and you just… kept it to yourself?”

His gaze snapped back to mine. “What was I supposed to do? Drag you out by the arm? Announce it in front of the whole damn

academy?”

“You could’ve warned me.”

“You wouldn’t have listened.”

I froze. “You don’t know that.”

He took a step closer. “I know you walked into a place you didn’t understand and didn’t run when you should have. I know you stood your ground in front of Malric when most people would’ve backed down. I know-” He stopped himself, jaw tightening again. “I know enough.”

My throat felt tight, like something was stuck there, unsaid.

“Why didn’t you turn me in?” I asked. “You could’ve. Any of you could’ve.”

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Chapter 13

“I thought you’d be gone by now

I nodded slowly, like the words didn’t sting. “Right. Well. You’ll get your wish.”

Zayn stepped into my path, not touching me, just enough to stop me. “That’s not what I meant.”

I looked up at him. “Then what did you mean?”

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