The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 170

Chapter 170

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I sank back into the chair, my heartbeat too loud for how quiet the world had gone. The sound of the forest outside was gone again

-no wind, no crickets, nothing. Just the soft, uneven rhythm of Zayn’s breathing.

“You think he’ll be okay?” I asked finally. My voice came out lower than I meant.

Zayn looked over his shoulder. “Kael can handle himself.”

Then, softer, “You’re worried.”

“Of course I’m worried,” I said. “We just fought whatever the hell that was out there, and now he’s walking back into it like it’s a

grocery run.”

A faint curve pulled at his mouth–half a smile, half something else. You always do that.”

“Do what?”

“Deflect. Joke when you’re scared.”

I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but I didn’t have the energy to lie. “You noticed?”

He turned fully toward me, resting his back against the wall. “I notice a lot of things.”

For a moment, neither of us spoke. The lantern threw a slow, shifting glow across his face, catching on the sharp lines of his jaw,

the faint cut on his cheek. He looked tired–worn in the kind of way that only comes from fighting things you can’t name.

My gaze lingered too long. He noticed that, too.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said quickly, but my pulse gave me away.

He pushed off the wall, crossing the room until he was standing just in front of me. Not close enough to touch, but close enough

that the air between us felt too small. “You keep saying that word like it means something.”

“Which word?”

“Nothing.”

I swallowed. “Because that’s what it is.”

He tilted his head slightly, eyes searching mine. “You sure?”

My throat felt dry, like every word I could say might come out wrong

And then–unbidden, unwanted–the memory of last night flickered back.

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Chapter 170

The warmth of his hand on my neck.

The way he’d whispered I’m so sorry against my skin.

The tear I’d felt but pretended not to.

It lodged in my chest before I could stop it,

“What did you mean?” I asked softly.

He frowned. “When?”

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“Last night,” I said. “You said you were sorry.”

Something flickered across his face–quick, sharp, and gone before I could name it. He dropped his gaze, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “You shouldn’t think about that.”

“Too late,” I said softly. “You said it like you meant it.”

He laughed under his breath, but there was no humor in it. “I did.”

“Then tell me why.”

Zayn didn’t answer right away. The lanternlight caught in his eyes, turning the gray almost silver. He looked older somehow–tired, guarded.

Finally, he said, “Because I fucked up.”

I swallowed. “You mean before?”

His jaw flexed once. “Yeah. Before.”

He didn’t have to explain what before meant. We both knew.

The night everything between us had changed.

The night I gave him something I’d never given anyone.

The night he’d made me feel wanted–and then ruined it with words that had cut deeper than claws ever could.

My voice came out lower than I meant. “You said something you can take back.”

“I know.”

“Then why?”

“Because if I hadn’t, you’d still be mine.”

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Chapter 170

The room felt too quiet after that.

My chest tightened. “And that’s a bad thing?”

His expression twisted, like the question physically hurt him. “You have no idea.”

I waited for an excuse. An apology. Anything. But he just stood there staring at the floor like it held all the answers he couldn’t

give me.

Finally, I said, “You can tell me the truth, Zayn. Whatever it is.”

He gave a soft, humorless laugh. “That’s the problem. I can’t.”

“Can’t, or won’t?”

“Both.”

There was something final in the way he said it. Quiet, but absolute,

I stood, unable to sit still anymore. “You don’t get to say you’re sorry and then shut me out again.”

He looked at me, eyes bright in the dim light. “I said I was sorry because I hurt you. Not because I changed my mind.”

That stopped me. “So what, you meant it?”