The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 27

I hovered near the door, suddenly unsure if I’d ma

desk, arms crossed, watching me with that unreadable

“Talk,” he said finally.

220

ing her. He didn’t offer me a seat, just leaned against the edge of his

at made my chest tighten.

The single word felt heavy, pressing at me.

I swallowed, shifting my weight. “I went to see Warden Raulf this morning.”

That got a reaction. His posture straightened just slightly, his eyes narrowing in the shadows. “And?”

“And he’s gone,” I said, my voice quieter than I meant it to be. “There’s someone else in his office. A woman. She called herself Mrs.

Ashtrong–the new warden. She said she didn’t even know who Raulf was.”

Zayn’s jaw ticked. He didn’t speak, but the silence stretched, thick with something unsaid.

“I don’t know what that means,” I went on, trying to keep my voice steady, “but it can’t be nothing. Not after the book. Not after

everything he showed us. He just… disappears? That’s not normal.”

I waited for him to say something, to agree, to deny, or anything. But all he did was stare at me, his expression unreadable. The weight of

it made me shift uncomfortably.

Finally, I added, almost against my own will, “You’re the only one who knows what happened that night. The others don’t. I thought

maybe… maybe you’d understand.”

His gaze softened then, just a fraction, but it was enough to make my heart skip. He dragged a hand down his face, exhaling slowly, and muttered under his breath, “F**k.”

Zayn stayed quiet for another long moment, like he was weighing something in his head. His eyes back. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and rough.

“You’re right,” he said. “It’s not normal”

I froze. “So you think it’s connected?”

me, toward the door, then

Zayn’s jaw tightened, but he nodded once. “The book. Whatever he showed us… someone didn’t want him showing it.”

A chill ran through me, cold and sharp. “But why? What was in it that’s so dangerous?”

He let out a humorless laugh, bitter at the edges. “Aurora, you don’t hide things like that unless they matter. And trust me–they matter.” He ran a hand through his hair, tugging at the ends like he could shake the thoughts out. “Raulf knew too much. Maybe he thought he

1/2

0 10 Thủ, Jan 20

Chapter 27

could outsmart whoever’s pulling the strings here. T

He didn’t finish the thought, but he didn’t have to.

then..

I hugged my arms around myself. “You sound like you’ve seen this before.”

For a second, his mask slipped. Something flickered in his eyes–memory, regret, fear. He turned away, pacing a few steps like he couldn’t

stand still.

“I grew up with secrets,” he said finally. “With people vanishing, people silenced, because they asked the wrong questions or dug too deep. My father- He broke off, snapping his mouth shut, shaking his head.

I took a step closer before I even realized it. “Your father what?”

His gaze snapped to mine, sharp but unsteady. For a heartbeat, it felt like he might actually tell me. But then he dragged in a breath and

looked away.

“Doesn’t matter,” he muttered. “What matters is this–Raulf didn’t just quit. He was taken out of the picture. And if we’re not careful,

we’ll be next.”

The words hit me like ice water. I swallowed hard. “Then what do we do?”

Zayn finally met my eyes again. There was something fierce there now, something that made my stomach twist in a way I didn’t want to examine. “We find out what’s in that book. In the file that has your name on it,” he said. “Before whoever did this to Raulf decides to

come for us.”

Comments

15

Write Comments