The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Aurora

It was already 7:45 am. by the time I stepped out of my dorm, the late morning light spilling weakly xeross the doonfused. 44 shewkes crunched over the thin layer of frost, but i barely felt the cold. My mind was still trapped in the remnants of that date

It clung to me like a second skin–every sound, every shadow, every word echoing in the back of my skull. I considert shake it, master how many deep breaths I took, Maybe that was why I was late, Or maybe I was just using it as an excuse.

When my roommates stirred, I told them everything, Well–almost everything, Riven already knew, of course. The others listened anyway, even though none of this was their problem. They didn’t have to care. But they did. More than once, they reminded me we were in it together. That mattered more than I could say.

By the time I slipped into the lecture hall, the professor’s voice was already rolling steadily across the rows of students. I slid into the first open seat I spotted, halfway down the middle row, trying not to draw any more attention than I already had.

I pulled out my notebook, but the lines on the page blurred. My focus kept slipping back to the dream, to the warning I still didn’t

understand. And to the book.

After class, I told myself I’d go to Warden Raulf. Ask to see it again. Maybe even tell him what we’d found.

The minutes crawled by. The professor’s voice melted into background noise, my pen scratching nothing but a shaky line across the page. My eyes drifted to the window. Outside, the courtyard shimmered with pale sunlight, ordinary and calm. But the dream pressed against it -dark halls and cold woods bleeding through the edges of my vision

When the bell finally rang, I packed my things too quickly, earning a glance from the student beside me. I ignored it. My mind was already fixed on the route to Raulf’s office.

I’d go there now, before I had the chance to talk myself out of it. Before the dream faded any further and I started convincing myself it didn’t matter. The hallways felt longer than usual, every step a little heavier. Students brushed pa muffled drone against the pounding in my ears. I kept my head down, my fingers curled tight a could keep the dream – and the questions – from spilling out of me.

all clusters, their chatter a

my bag, like that alone

By the time I reached the warden’s office, the hall had gone quiet. The heavy oak door looked the same as always, its brass handle catching the light from the tall windows. I hesitated and tried to gather my thoughts. Then knocked.

The door opened almost instantly–but it wasn’t Mr. Raulf standing there.

A woman, tall and severe–looking, filled the doorway. Her hair was a streaked silver pulled into a knot at the base of her neck, and her dark eyes assessed me with cool precision. She wore the same deep green uniform jacket all wardens wore, but there was something…

different. Sharper.

“Yes?” she asked. Her voice was even, but it carried the kind of authority that made me straighten up without thinking.

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0:09 Thu, Jan 20

Chapter 24

“Um.. I’m here to see Warden Raulf,” I said.

Her gaze didn’t flicker. “I’m Warden Ashtrong. Mi

in this position.”

I blinked, my brain stalling for a beat. “What do you mean no longer in this position? Where is he?”

84

Her expression didn’t change. “I wouldn’t know. I’ve just been assigned here. Now–was there something you needed?”

I opened my mouth, then shut it again. My thoughts scrambled, one question tripping over the next. Had he quit? Been transferred? Or…

I mumbled something that might’ve been “never mind” and stepped back, letting the new warden close the door with a quiet, deliberate

click.

The sound echoed in the empty hallway.

I stood there for another second, staring at the polished brass handle like it might swing open again and Mr. Raulf would step out, shaking his head, telling me it was all some mistake.

But the door stayed shut.

By the time I made it to the canteen, the place was already filling up with the midday crowd. The low hum of voices, the clatter of trays, and the sharp smell of roasted meat and coffee hit me all at once. I grabbed a plate more out of habit than hunger and slid into a corner table, my thoughts still tangled in the corridor outside the warden’s office.

Had Mr. Raulf really just… left? Overnight? Without a word?

Or had someone made sure he left?

I picked at the food on my plate, barely tasting it. The dream. The Tower. The book. Now Raulf is g could be a coincidence. Two, maybe. But three?

xplanation. One thing

A laugh from a nearby table pulled me back for half a second. Students joked and gossiped like nothing was wrong. Like the ground beneath us wasn’t shifting in quiet, invisible ways.

I forced myself to take a bite, even though my stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots. If Raulf had vanished because of what we’d

found…

Then maybe I wasn’t the only one being watched.

I was halfway through pushing the food around my plate when my roommates descended on the table in a wave of chatter and movement. Selene slid into the seat across from me, Lira plopped down beside me with a dramatic sigh, Mira claimed the far end with a steaming cup of tea, and Riven took the spot next to her, already eyeing me like she knew I was hiding something.

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Chapter 24

You look like you saw a plus. Gelone cold, w

More like the is a gust, Life added. “You’ve hart,

her fork.

“I’m fine.” I said entomatically, which earned me a collective rend of doubtful stares.

Mira vet her tea down with a soft link. “You’re lying.”

I forced a thin smile. “Just… tired. Long night.”

Riven didn’t take her eyes off me. “Tired, or thinking about something you don’t want to say out loud?”

I stabbed at my lunch, avoiding her gaze. “Both.”

They didn’t push, but the silence that settled over the table was heavier than the noise around us. And the more I tried to act normal, the more I felt all four of them watching me–like they could see the unanswered questions clinging to me as clearly as the steam rising from

their food.

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