The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 189

The Human Among Wolves

Chapter 189

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They didn’t even hesitate. Mira perched on the edge of her bed. Lira slid down beside her. Riven crossed her arms like she needed

something to hold onto but still stayed close. Their eyes stayed fixed on me, their faces open, waiting.

I sat on my own bed, the mattress dipping under me, and finally began.

I told them everything.

Not fast. Not in one rush. My voice felt too raw for that. The words came in pieces–slow, halting, pulled out of me like threads that

had tangled too tight. I told them about the forest that wouldn’t move. About the loops. About the mimic. About the cabin that felt

like it was swallowing us whole. About the basement we shouldn’t have opened. About the way time stretched and snapped and

folded like it wasn’t ours anymore.

I didn’t look at them while I talked. I stared at my hands, at the floor, at the wall–anywhere else–because saying it all out loud

made it real.

”

When I finally lifted my head, all three were staring at me with wide stunned eyes. Mira’s lips were parted like she’d forgotten how

to close them. Riven looked like she was replaying every word and still not quite understanding how it added up. Lira’s face had

gone soft in that way she got when she was trying not to cry.

“Rory…” Lira said quietly, her voice barely a breath, “I’m so, so sorry you had to go through that.”

Something in my chest cracked–not painfully, just enough to let the air in again.

Before I could respond, all three of them moved at once.

mo

Arms wrapped around me from every direction–tight, warm, overwhelming. Mira pressed her cheek to the top of my head. Lira

hugged me from the side, fingers curling into the back of my shirt. Riven’s arms circled my shoulders, pulling me firmly into the

center of them like they were trying to shield me from the world.

It wasn’t gentle.

It was bone–crushing.

And it was exactly what I needed.

My eyes closed on instinct, the tension in my body loosening for the first time since the forest swallowed us. The smell of perfume,

shampoo, the faint trace of laundry powder–it was all so painfully normal I felt something in me finally settle.

After a few minutes, their arms loosened around me. One by one, they pulled back, though none of them stepped far. They just

hovered close, as if letting go completely wasn’t an option yet.

Mira glanced down at her watch–just a quick look, out of habit–and then her eyes widened. “Oh, shit,” she breathed. “We’re late.”

Riven jolted. Lira blinked like she’d genuinely forgotten the concept of time existed.

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12:18 Thu, Jan 29 GG B.

Chapter 189

And then the room turned into controlled chaos.

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Backpacks zipped. Jackets were grabbed. Shoes were hunted down with the kind of frantic precision only girls running late could manage. They moved fast–five minutes, maybe less–and even in that rush, they kept glancing at me. Like they didn’t want to leave

but had to.

Mira squeezed my arm before she headed out. “We’re not done talking,” she warned.

Riven pointed two fingers at her eyes, then at me. “You’re not escaping us.”

Lira just gave me a small, soft smile before slipping through the door

Then they were gone.

My body felt grimy with the woods, the cabin, the fear, the smoke–everything. Layers of it. I needed it off me.

I grabbed clean clothes, my towel, and whatever products my hands landed on, then stepped out into the hallway and made my way

toward the showers.

The walk felt longer than usual. Maybe because everything around me looked normal–students talking, the faint hum of chatter

behind closed doors–but inside I still felt like I’d just crawled out of some other world.

The shower stalls were warm and quiet, steam curling lazily toward the ceiling. The moment the hot water hit my skin, my

shoulders dropped. The heat sank into my muscles, washing away the cold that had settled so deep in me the past–what I thought

were days.

I stood there longer than I meant to, letting the water run over my face, my hair, my hands. Letting the noise of it drown out the

last echoes of the cabin.

When I finally turned the faucet off, everything felt softer. Not fixed–not even close–but lighter.

I got dressed slowly, pulling on clean jeans, a shirt, and a warm socks. The kind of clothes that made me feel human again.

And then… I knew where I needed to go.

Zayn.

He needed to hear about the time shift. And honestly? I needed to see him. To make sure he was here–solid, real–not lost

somewhere between the woods and whatever hell we’d escaped.

I took a breath, slung my bag over my shoulder, and headed down the hallway toward the boys‘ dorms.

Toward him.