The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 172

The Human Among Wolves

Chapter 172

Dery Aast on my body stood up

Zawod. “If it’s really you” he said, “What is your nickname for her?”

The mind answer. It just stared. Then, slowly, its mouth curved into a smile.

Zaan moved before I could think. He grabbed my wrist, yanking me behind him as he lunged. The knife sliced clean through the

hit chatter–but instead of blood, a thick black shadge hissed out, steaming where it hit the floor.

The thing didn’t flinch. It just smiled wider.

When it spoke again, its voice had changed–lower now, distorted. “Ahways the protector.”

Zayn kicked it back hard enough to crack the wall, but it didn’t fall. The sound it made when it moved–bones scraping, skin

daging- 7 human.

What the hell is it?” I breathed.

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“Mimic, Zayn said roughly. “Leftover magic. They borrow faces.”

The minic’s head snapped toward me. “Borrow, it repeated, tasting the word.

The room went cold. My breath fogged in the air.

Zayn’s arm shifted slightly, keeping me behind him. “You picked the wrong face,” he said.

The thing twitched–its jaw unhinging just a little too far–and then laughed. The sound was high and hollow, like glass breaking

underwater.

I stumbled back, bumping into the table. The lantern wobbled, the flame flaring high before shrinking again.

Zayn didn’t take his eyes off it. “Aurora,” he said quietly, “the pendant.”

My hand flew to my chest. The metal was cold enough to burn.

The mimic’s head turned toward me, too fast. Its grin stretched, cracking its own cheek.

It lunged

Zayn shoved me sideways and met it mid–charge. The two collided with a sound like splintering wood. The mimic’s claws tore through his shirt, but Zayn drove the knife into its ribs and twisted.

The thing screamed–dozens of voices shrieking at once. The floor trembled, the air vibrating with it.

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Chapter 172

“Light it!” Zayn barked.

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My hands fumbled across the table until I found the lantern. The flame was weak but alive. I grabbed the pendant and held it up.

The mimic’s body started to shift–Kael’s face melting, rippling into something else. For a heartbeat, I saw myself staring back–eyes

black, mouth open in a silent scream.

The sight froze me.

Zayn shouted my name, but I couldn’t move.

Then the pendant pulsed–hard. A blinding silver light burst from it, filling the room.

The mimic screamed again–higher, shriller–and began to fall apart. The blackness bled from its skin, its body collapsing until

nothing remained but a smear of shadow on the floorboards.

Silence crashed back, thick and absolute.

Zayn stayed still for a long moment, chest heaving, knife raised. When the shadow didn’t move, he kicked it once. It dissolved into

ash before it hit the ground.

Only then did he lower the blade.

I didn’t move. My fingers were still curled around the pendant, the metal cool now, heavy against my palm. “Zayn…”

He looked over. “What?”

“How did you know?” My voice came out quieter than I meant. “To use this. The pendant.”

His eyes lingered on it for a beat too long. “I didn’t.”

I frowned. “Then-”

“I guessed,” he said, but something in his tone didn’t fit.

“Zayn.”

He dragged a hand through his hair, the muscle in his jaw flexing. “pulsed when that thing looked at you. I figured maybe it

wasn’t just jewelry.

He sheathed the knife, exhaling through his teeth. “He’s been gone too long.”

The words landed heavy.

He started for the door. “I’m going after him.”

“No.”

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O

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Chapter 172

He stopped, looking back at me. “Rory.”

“I’m not staying here alone.”

Zayn’s jaw tightened. “You just saw what’s out there.”

“And you just said he’s been gone too long,” I shot back. “If something happened to him-

”

He cursed under his breath, dragging a hand down his face. “You’re going to be the death of me.”

“Probably,” I said, my voice unsteady but firm. “Let’s go.”

He didn’t argue again. Just grabbed the lantern and opened the door

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The cold hit first–wet, heavy air that clung to the skin. The woods outside were completely still. No wind. No sound. Just a thick,

muffled silence that pressed against my ears.

Zayn stepped forward, the light spilling out around us. “Stay close,” he said quietly.

“I know.”

He paused, looking over his shoulder at me. “No, Aurora. Stay close.

His voice was different this time–lower, rawer.

I nodded.

He reached for my hand, his fingers cold and calloused, and together we stepped off the porch.

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