The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Aurora

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“Rory…?”

His voice pulls me out of sleep slowly, not all at once, like I’ve been inking somewhere deep and warm and he’s gently tugging me back to the surface. My eyelids flutter before they open, my body still heavy, slow to catch up with my mind. For a second, I don’t

even remember where I am.

“Are we there?” I murmur, the words tangled with a quiet yawn as turn my head toward him. My voice sounds distant even to my

own ears.

He shakes his head, eyes still on the road. “Not even close,” he says softly. “We’ve got maybe three… four hours left.”

A quiet groan slips out of me as I sink deeper into the seat, staring up for a moment before turning toward the window. Outside, there’s nothing but darkness stretching endlessly ahead of us. No houses. No signs. No broken glow of streetlights. Just the silent

road cutting through the night.

“I was thinking we should stop at a hotel or something soon,” he adds after a moment. I can hear the edge of exhaustion in his

voice now. “I’m getting tired.”

“If we even find one,” I mutter under my breath, my voice still thick with sleep as I keep staring out at the endless dark beyond the glass. The road feels like it could go on forever, like nothing exists outside these headlights.

“Well, there should be a motel not too far from here,” he says after a moment. His tone is steady, reassuring in that effortless way

of his. “It’s not fancy, but it’ll do.”

I let out a quiet breath and nod once, slow and tired, shifting slightly in my seat as sleep still clings to me. “Yeah,” I mumble.

“That’s fine.”

And just like he said, about forty minutes later, a flicker of light appeared in the distance–small, lonely, almost easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. As we got closer, the shape of a modest building slowly emerged from the darkness, and beside it, a battered neon sign glowing faintly through the night.

The motel.

It wasn’t anything impressive. Just a simple, low building with a few tim lights under the roof and a parking lot that looked like it hadn’t been repainted in years. But right now, it might as well have been a luxury resort. I was exhausted, my body heavy with that deep kind of tired that sinks into your bones, even though I hadn’t been the one behind the wheel for hours.

Zayn pulled into one of the empty spots and cut the engine. For a moment, everything went quiet–no hum of the road, no steady vibration beneath us. Just the faint buzz of the motel sign and the cool night air pressing in as he opened his door.

We grabbed our backpacks from the backseat and stepped out into the cold, the gravel crunching softly under our shoes. I slung the straps over my shoulders, feeling the familiar weight settle against my back, and glanced at the building again.

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12:23 Thu, Jan 29 BGB.

Chapter 225

Not fancy.

But it would do.

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We push through the glass door and step into the little motel lobby, soft bell chiming above us. Warm air hits my face right away, carrying the faint smell of old carpets and coffee that’s been sitting too long. It’s quiet, almost too quiet, and somewhere behind the

desk a small heater hums steadily.

Behind the counter sits an elderly woman with silver hair pulled into a neat bun and reading glasses perched on the tip of her nose. She looks up from a worn crossword puzzle and gives us a gentle smile.

“Evenin“,” she says.

Zayn steps up beside me like he always does, calm and effortless. “We need a room for the night.”

She glances between the two of us, her smile turning knowing. “Long drive?”

“Yeah,” I answer quietly, feeling the exhaustion settle deeper into my bones.

Zayn pulls out his wallet without hesitation, already reaching for cash. She takes it, counts it quickly, then reaches behind her for a key hanging on a wooden board. She slides it across the counter toward him.

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