The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 222

Chapter 222

Aurora

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After what felt like hours of sitting in quiet beside Zayn, I finally pulled out my phone. My fingers hovered over the screen for a moment, heart racing. I had to let my roommates know–Lira, Riven, Mira–they needed to understand why I’d left the dance so

suddenly.

Hey… left the dance early. Going to crash at Zayn’s tonight. Don’t worry.

I reread the message once, twice, and then hit send. It felt strange to admit I was staying with him, even though there was no romance in the air at that moment–just safety. A small part of me wondered if they’d question it, but I didn’t have the energy to

explain. Not now.

Zayn leaned back against the pillows, watching me with those careful, unreadable eyes. “Done?” he asked softly.

I nodded. “Yeah… they’ll understand.”

He gave me a faint smile. “Good.” Then, almost casually, he reached for the hoodie he’d handed me when we first got back. “Here,” he said, tossing it gently toward me. I caught it instinctively and hugged it close. It smelled like him, faintly of wood smoke and something warmer, something I couldn’t name but couldn’t stop inhaling.

We changed quietly, the routine mundane enough to feel grounding tugged the hoodie over my head, slipping into the familiar warmth, and Zayn shrugged into something comfortable. We didn’t speak as we settled into his bed, side by side, the blanket pulled up around both of us. For the first time that night, I felt myself relax, curling into the soft weight of the fabric and the quiet hum of

the dorm around us.

Sleep came eventually, slow and heavy, but it didn’t erase the gnawing tension in my chest. My wolf was restless beneath the surface, sensing something I couldn’t yet name. Even in dreams, there was a pull–an urgency. A connection.

*******

Morning light spilled through the blinds, soft and gentle, coaxing me awake. I turned to see Zayn still half–asleep beside me, hair messy, lips slightly parted. For a moment, I just watched him, memorizing the quiet rhythm of his breathing. Then reality hit me

again–the thing I’d been postponing.

I reached out slowly, my fingers brushing along the side of his face, racing the warmth there. His skin was soft beneath my touch,

the kind of softness that made my chest pull tight for no reason I could explain.

“Zayn,” I whispered, barely louder than a breath. “Wake up.”

For a moment, nothing happened. He just lay there, still caught somewhere between sleep and consciousness, lashes resting against his cheeks, brow relaxed in a way I rarely saw when he was awake. I kept my hand there, steady, letting my thumb glide gently

across his cheekbone.

Then he stirred. His eyebrows pulled together just a little before his eyes finally blinked open, slow and unfocused at first, like he

was trying to figure out where he was–or maybe who was touching him.

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12:23 Thu. Jan 29 BGB.

Chapter 222

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His gare drifted upward until it found mine, and something softened in his expression, something quiet and warm that made my

stomach dip.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice rough from sleep, low in a way that sent a shiver down the back of my neck. He didn’t move right away. He just lay there, looking up at me like he wasn’t quite ready to let go of the last remnants of whatever dream he’d been

pulled from.

I let my hand linger for another second before pulling it back slowly careful not to break the calm settling between us. It felt delicate somehow, like the kind of moment that would collapse if either of us moved too quickly.

He blinked again, taking a quiet breath as he shifted onto his side, the blankets rustling around him. His hair was a mess, sticking up in places, falling into his face in others, and there was something unfairly endearing about how unguarded he looked like this-

half–awake, half–mine in the dim morning light.

“Did you sleep well?” he murmured, eyes still half–lidded.

I nodded, watching the way he was still trying to wake up, still trying to fully come back to me.