The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 22

Aurora

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We retraced our steps through the courtyard, the weight of the book heavy in my bag. Zayn kept close, his presence a steady anchor in the cold night air. The academy’s familiar halls rose around us, dimly lit by flickering lanterns, their quietness a fragile veil over the dangers lurking in the shadows.

We slowed down at the corner near the dorms, both knowing it was where we had to split

“Are you heading back to your dorm?” Zayn asked, voice low.

“Yeah,” I said, adjusting the strap of my bag. “You?”

“Same. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I appreciate helping me get this book, but i got it from here.”

“The deal was to help you until you unlocked that book, so-”

“No.” I cut him off. “This isn’t your problem, Zayn. It’s mine. My roommates are already helping me.”

“That’s why you didn’t tell them? Because they’re ‘helping‘ you?”

I could hear the sarcasm in his voice, and I rolled my eyes. “Listen, I don’t have time to argue with you at one in the fucking morning. Someone could hear us or see us, and it’s curfew. I don’t want your help. I don’t need your help. Got it? Your girlfriend–mate–whatever she is already told me to stay away from you, and I happen to like having my eyes intact. So… good night.”

I turned to leave, but his hand shot out, catching mine, heat burning through his grip.

“If you’re worried about Charlotte, don’t. We’re not-”

“What?” I snapped, yanking my hand. “Together? Don’t insult me. Every time I see you two, your tongue’s down her throat. And she’s your mate, Zayn. That means, like it or not, you’re bound to her.”

I turned and walked toward my dorm, not giving him the chance to say anything more.

I slowly opened the door, the hinges letting out the faintest groan, and stepped inside on tiptoe. The dorm was dim, lit only by the pale spill of moonlight from the tall windows. Every sound felt louder at this hour–and it was nearly 2 A.M.

“Where have you been?”

The voice spoke behind me, calm but edged with something sharp. My heart stopped.

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Chapter 22

I turned my head and found Riven sitting upright

The other girls were asleep—thank God–their quiet i

sed, eyes fixed on me. She had clearly been waiting.

ady beneath the hush of the night.

“…” My throat tightened. I could lie, but I didn’t want that. She already knew almost all of it.

“I was with Zayn.”

Her brow lifted, the surprise evident even in the dim light. “You mean… you slept with him?”

“What? No!” Heat rushed to my face. “I would never–Anyway…” I took a breath, trying to steady my voice. “We broke into the old

abandoned tower at the edge of the academy grounds. You know the one–it used to be a library.”

As I spoke, I crossed the room and sat on my bed, lowering my voice to a whisper so as not to disturb the others.

“And we found this.” From under my jacket, I pulled out a heavy, dust–caked book.

Riven got up silently and came closer, her bare feet making no sound on the cold floor.

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“What is that?” she asked, leaning over.

“I think… a book of spells? I’m not sure. But I’m hoping it might help us open that other book–the one with my name in it. The only problem is, it’s entirely in Latin, and the only person I know who could translate it is Zayn, but…” My voice trailed off. “That’s not going to happen. Not after… never mind. We’ll have to find another way.”

She studied me for a long moment, then sat beside me, taking the book gently from my hands. “Of course I’ll help. “We’re going to help, she said softly, as she gestured toward the three sleeping forms across the room. “We already told you–you’re not alone in this.”

A small, genuine smile tugged at my lips.

“Anyway, it’s late, and we should go to sleep. We have early classes tomorrow.” Riven nodded as hers. I quickly changed into my PJs, putting the book on the table. I lay in bed and closed my ey

my bed and went toward

The woods was wrong.

Too quiet, too still–every tree standing like it was holding its breath. The moon hung low and swollen, casting silver light that didn’t quite reach the ground. My feet sank into damp earth with each step, the air thick with the smell of wet moss and something sour, like

metal left to rust.

I didn’t remember walking here. I didn’t remember leaving my bed at all.

A branch snapped behind me.

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Chapter 22

I turned—nothing. Just a tunnel of trees, their bl

ward the sky.

The wind picked up, whistling through the leaves in a

almost sounded like words.

Aurenya.

That name again.

My skin prickled.

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Aurenya… stop.

The voice was everywhere–above me, behind me, curling out of the ground like fog. I spun in a slow circle, pulse slamming in my ears.

Another step forward, and the woods shifted. Trees pressed closer, the shadows between them thickening into something you couldn’t see through. The air was colder now, every breath scraping in my chest.

“You don’t belong here.”

The voice was closer–a low whisper that crawled along the inside of my skull.

I caught movement in the corner of my eye. A shape between the trees.

Tall. Unmoving. Watching.

“Who’s there?” My voice sounded too loud, too human in the hush.

“Turn back, little seeker.”

I froze. The figure stepped forward, and the shadows clung to it like they didn’t want to let go. I suggestion of one, shifting and blurring if I tried to focus.

“If you keep digging,” it said, “you’ll find things that do not want to be found.”

The ground beneath me trembled. Roots writhed up through the soil, coiling around my ankles, cold and slick.

“Stop searching,” the voice pressed. “Before the answers find you first.”

The roots yanked hard, and I stumbled, falling into a darkness that swallowed the woods whole.

out a face – only the

I woke with a gasp, the echo of the voice still clinging to me, my sheets twisted tight around my legs like they’d been holding me down

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The Human Among Wolves