The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 161

Chapter 161

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Twenty minutes.

Enough time to pack, to breathe, to pretend I wasn’t terrified about what we were walking into.

But as I shoved a few essentials into my backpack–flashlight, water, spare clothes, the dagger I hoped I’d never need–I couldn’t stop that small, traitorous part of me that felt something close to… Hope.

The sky was still gray when we left.

That washed–out color that sits between night and morning, when the world feels like it hasn’t decided what it wants to be yet.

Kael’s car waited at the edge of the courtyard. The air was cold enough that my breath came out in faint clouds, my fingers curled

tight around the strap of my backpack.

Zayn walked beside me, quiet but close enough that our arms brushed every few steps. He didn’t say much, but he didn’t have to. After last night, words felt unnecessary. His presence was enough–slid, steady, grounding.

Kael stood by the driver’s side, pacing with the kind of restless energy that made it clear he’d been awake for hours. When he saw us, his jaw flexed once, but he didn’t say anything. He just opened the door and nodded toward the back seat.

Zayn got in first. I followed, sliding in beside him, the faint smell of his cologne–smoke, cedar, something clean–settling into the

air around us.

Kael started the engine without a word.

The hum of the car filled the silence as we pulled onto the road, the academy shrinking in the rearview mirror. The tires hummed against the pavement, a low, steady rhythm that should’ve been comforting but wasn’t.

No one spoke for a while.

I glanced out the window, watching the horizon slowly lighten, streaks of pink and gold trying to fight through the mist. Normally, mornings made me feel tired. This one didn’t. For the first time in forever, I felt… calm. Not because things were okay–they definitely weren’t–but because I wasn’t facing it alone.

My reflection in the glass looked almost like a stranger–eyes softer, mouth curved in something dangerously close to a smile.

Zayn noticed. Of course he did.

He leaned back in his seat, one arm resting casually on the edge of the window, his other hand brushing against mine where it rested on my knee. The touch was small, barely there, but it sent a quiet warmth up my spine.

Kael’s voice broke the silence.

“You look happy,” he said, not looking at me. His tone wasn’t accusing, just… curious.

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Chapter 161

I blinked, caught off guard. “I’m just… not used to being up this early.”

Zayn’s mouth twitched into something halfway between a smirk and a laugh. Kael didn’t buy it.

“Given everything going on,” Kael said, eyes fixed on the road, “I didn’t expect that.”

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I hesitated, unsure what to say. Because he was right. I shouldn’t be happy. Seraphina was probably dead. Someone had sent me a box with blood on it. We were driving straight into the woods to find answers that might ruin everything.

And yet sitting here, watching the sun climb over the trees, Zayn’s hand brushing against mine–I couldn’t help it. The weight that had been sitting on my chest for months felt a little lighter.

“I guess I’m just… tired of feeling scared all the time,” I said finally.

Kael glanced at me in the rearview mirror. There was a flicker of something there–understanding, maybe–but it disappeared before

I could name it.

The road turned rough as we left the city behind, gravel crunching under the tires. The trees grew denser, shadows swallowing the weak morning light. The smell of pine and damp earth crept in through the cracked windows.

Zayn shifted, his posture changing subtly–more alert now, shoulders tense. His hand brushed mine again, this time deliberate. “You

okay?” he asked quietly.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Kael’s eyes flicked up at that–just once, just enough to notice.

I thought about last night–the warmth of Zayn’s hands, the way his voice had cracked when he whispered I’m sorry. The tear that

had hit my skin before I could even react.

And for a split second, guilt flickered through me.

Because Kael was here, leading us straight into danger for me.

And Zayn was here too, trying to protect me from something he didn’t even understand yet.