The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 203

Chapter 203

Aurora

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“He told me this is my legacy,” Zayn said, pushing through my outburst like he didn’t even hear it–or maybe he heard it too well and couldn’t afford to stop. His voice was raw around the edges. “I couldn’t tell you, Rory. I couldn’t. He could… he could take you

away from me and 1-1-”

“Stop. Stop fucking talking!” I shouted, the words ripping out of me like something too sharp to hold inside. “You knew about this the whole time and you kept quiet?!”

Zayn stepped toward me, closing the distance in two furious strides. Snow crunched beneath his boots, breath clouding between us. His eyes weren’t just angry–they were scared, cornered, desperate.

“And what was I supposed to tell you?!” he snapped back. His voice wasn’t raised, but it hit even harder for how tightly he held it together. “Huh? ‘Hey, my father owns an auction house–pretty cool, right?“”

My chest tightened, a horrible, trembling pressure.

“No,” I said, shaking my head, breath uneven. “But you could’ve said something. Anything.”

Zayn’s expression faltered–only for a second, but enough to see the truth in it.

He had no defense.

Not a real one.

And the wind between us felt suddenly colder.

“Rory,” he said, and there was something almost cracked in the way he said my name. “Zade threatened me with it. If I didn’t break it off with you, he would’ve told my father, and my father would take you. He would, Aurora. And I couldn’t–I couldn’t let that

happen. I had to… I had to break your heart.”

His voice faltered, the admission dragging out of him like it hurt to say.

“But… fuck…” He scrubbed a hand through his hair, snow falling from his sleeve. “I couldn’t stay away. Not when Kael started

getting close to you.”

I rolled my eyes, the annoyance sharp and immediate.

“Don’t,” I said flatly. “Don’t even bring him into this.”

Zayn’s mouth tightened like he had more to say, but I cut him off before he could even breathe a word.

“We have bigger problems than your fucking jealousy.”

“I know,” he whispered, the sound barely more than a breath that forged in the cold air between us. “And I told you everything now.

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Chapter 203

No more secrets between us.”

For a moment, neither of us moved. Snow drifted quietly around us, melting the second it touched the heat of his skin. I forced myself to look up at him, searching his face for anything–truth, lies hesitation. All I found was exhaustion.

“And that’s your legacy?” I asked after a few long minutes, my voice softer than I meant it to be.

“Yes.” He swallowed, jaw clenching as if the word tasted bitter. “Zade is the heir to the throne. I’m the youngest so…” He didn’t

finish. He didn’t need to.

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I nodded slowly, not because I understood, but because I didn’t trust myself to speak.

It all felt unreal–too dark, too heavy, too twisted to belong to the same world I woke up in this morning. I knew Zayn’s father was a

monster, but this… this was something else entirely.

My throat tightened, and suddenly I became aware of how cold my fingers were, how numb my cheeks felt.

“I’m cold,” I said quietly, because it was the only thing I could admit out lo

without breaking.

A soft, almost disbelieving laugh escaped him. “No shit, baby,” he murmured, voice dropping in that way that always made my

stomach twist.

He didn’t hesitate–just stepped closer and unzipped his jacket, draping it over my shoulders with a gentleness that didn’t match the tension in the air. The warmth of it, of him, hit me immediately.

“Let’s go to my room,” he said softly.

I nodded once, slow but certain.

Once we were inside his room, the warmth hit me first–soft, steady, a relief after the cold that had sunk deep into my bones. Zayn didn’t say anything at first. He just crossed to his dresser, pulled out one of his hoodies, and held it out to me.

“Here,” he said quietly.

I slipped it on without arguing. It was oversized on me, swallowing my hands and brushing mid–thigh, the fabric still warm from his drawer. It smelled like cedar and something darker–him. Familiar. Dangerous. Comforting. All at once.

He busied himself with the kettle after that, moving around the small space with that restless, silent energy he always got when he was thinking too hard. I climbed onto his bed, settling against the pillows and pulling his blanket over me until only my face peeked

out.

We weren’t fine. Not even close.

But God… I loved him. Even when I wished I didn’t.

When he finally came over, he sat beside me, one leg on the floor, one knee bent on the mattress. He handed me the mug, fingers brushing mine briefly, quietly, intentionally. I took a sip, letting the warmth settle in my chest.

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Chapter 203

Zayn didn’t look away from me–not once. His eyes tracked every movement, every inhale, every tiny tremor in my hands.

“Rory,” he said at last, voice low, steady in a way that warned me he’d been rehearsing this in his head. “I need to tell you

something.”

I raised a brow, tired and wary. “I don’t think it can be worse than it already is.”

A faint, humorless chuckle slipped out of him. “We’ll see about that

I narrowed my eyes, bracing myself.

He took a long breath, shoulders lifting, then falling. For a heartbeat be looked like he might back out. But he didn’t

“I think…” he started, voice cracking ever so slightly, “no. I’m sure I am your fated mate.”

I choked.

Not dramatically–not the cute kind.

I actually choked, tea going down the wrong way, burning my throat as I coughed like my lungs were trying to escape my body.

Zayn froze, eyes widening. “Rory”

But I couldn’t answer him.

Because I was too busy trying not to die right there in his bed.

Comments

Robin Lucas

I KNEW IT !!!