The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 179

Chapter 179

That pulled a small, tired huff out of me. “Rude.”

“Honest.”

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Kael gave me a look that said he agreed with Zayn, for once. “You lying there with your eyes open isn’t helping.”

He wasn’t wrong. I sighed, exhaled slowly, and let my head tip back against the wall. “Fine. If something tries to eat me in my sleep,

I’m haunting both of you.”

“Get in line,” Zayn muttered.

I let my eyes close.

The cabin’s sounds faded into a distant hum–crackle of wood, soft scrape of movement, the quiet rhythm of breathing that didn’t

belong to me. My mind floated, too tired to cling to one thought for long.

At some point, I must’ve slipped under.

Because the next thing I knew, there it was again.

My name.

My real name.

Whispered against my ear, clear as if someone was leaning right over me.

Aurenya.

I jerked awake, heart in my throat, hands flying to my chest–and fel the pendant burning against my skin. Not warm. Hot.

I sucked in a breath, hissing, fingers jerking away from the metal. “Sit-”

Kael was beside me in an instant, hand already on my shoulder. “What is it?”

Zayn was there too, knife back in his hand like it had never left. “Rory.”

“The pendant,” I managed, breath shaky. “It–it heated up. And someone-” My throat closed around the rest.

“Someone what?” Kael pressed.

I swallowed. “Someone said my name.”

He went still. “From where?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. It sounded like… inside. Not outside. Not the door. Just–here.”

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Chapter 179

1 tapped my temple lightly.

Zayn’s gaze dropped to the pendant, his mouth pressing into a hard line. “Take it off.”

Kael shot him a look. “Bad idea.”

“It’s burning her, Zayn snapped. “How is that a good thing?”

“It’s reacting,” Kael said, voice tight. “You break contact, you might cut off the only link we have to whatever this is.”

“Good,” Zayn bit out.

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I listened to them argue for a handful of seconds, then did the only thing I could manage. I pushed myself upright and leaned against the wall again, pressing my palm flat over the metal despite the sting.

“Hey,” I said, my voice coming out hoarse but strong. “You two can fight about it later. What if it’s not just reacting? What if it’s

trying to show us something?”

They both went quiet at that.

Kael’s eyes flashed, thoughtful. “What did it feel like? Exactly,”

“Like a pulse. But too hot.” I hesitated. “And the second I woke up, it stopped.”

“So it flared when you were asleep,” he said. “When your defenses were down.”

“That’s not comforting, I muttered.

Zayn crouched in front of me, eyes searching my face like he was looking for something more than an answer. “Did you see

anything? Hear anything besides your name?”

I thought back. The dream was already slipping, dissolving the way dreams always did, but I clung to the edges I could still grab.

“Smell,” I said finally. “Smoke. And something… sweet. Not gross. Like flowers and… old paper?” I frowned. “And there was a sound. Pages turning. Someone whispering in a language I don’t know.”

Kael and Zayn exchanged a look over my head.

“What?” I demanded.

Kael exhaled slowly. “Seraphina’s magic smelled like that. Smoke and old paper. Ink. Sometimes flowers, if she was using anything

from the garden.”

My chest tightened. “So you think it’s her?”

“I think,” he said carefully, “either she anchored something in that pendant before she disappeared… or whoever took her is now close enough to tug the same string.”

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Chapter 179

Cool. Great. No anxiety spike at all.

Before I could spiral further, a sound broke through the heavy quiet.

Not the door.

Not the window.

Below us.

A soft, dull thud from under the floor.

Once.

Twice.

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Then a pause.

Zayn went rigid. “Tell me that was the house settling.”

Kael was already on his feet, head tilted like he could hear more than we could. His face went very still. “It’s coming from

underneath.”

The three of us listened.

The knock came again.

Slower this time.

Steady.

Like knuckles against wood.

From beneath the cabin.

My fingers curled tighter around the pendant until the metal bit into my palm.

“Please tell me there’s not a basement,” I whispered.

Kael didn’t look at me. His voice came out flat.

“There wasn’t.”

Another knock.

Closer.

And this time, when it came, the boards under my feet vibrated.