The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 29

29

Autora

The room felt suddenly smaller, the silence between us heavier than stone.

(84)

“Who?” I asked, almost whispering.

His throat worked as he swallowed. “She called them by name.” He hesitated, then finally let the word fall, quiet but sharp enough to cut

through me. “Aurenya.”

The world seemed to stop. My chest tightened, my heart slamming once twice – then halting, suspended in the space between beats.

Aurenya.

That name. I knew that name. It was the name from my dreams.

“And the woman?” My voice shook as I cut him off, urgency scraping my throat raw. “What was she saying? Tell me exactly what you

heard.”

“She said…” His voice faltered, and he pressed his fingers against his temple, eyes closing as though he were digging the words up from

somewhere buried. “She said that she loved her very much. That she was sorry… so, so sorry.”

My chest tightened. I leaned forward without realizing it.

He drew in a slow breath, opening his eyes again, though they seemed distant, glassed over. “And then she said something else. She said

that no matter what happens, she will find her. Those were her words. Not a promise… a vow.” His gaze shifted to me then, sharp and

almost accusing.

My throat worked. “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? I could have-”

He cut across my words, his tone edged. “Maybe because you told me you didn’t need my help.

he glanced away. “I don’t even know if that woman, or the child she spoke of, has anything to de

“His jaw flexed, and

The silence between us grew heavy, pressing down until I had to break it. I exhaled, the sound trembling. “What happened next?”

For a moment, he didn’t answer. His hand dragged through his hair, the gesture restless, like he hated what he was about to admit.

“Nothing,” he said finally, voice rough. “I heard footsteps in the hall. Heavy ones. Guards, probably. I panicked and ran back to my room

before they could see me standing there.”

I stared at him, waiting, needing more, but he only shook his head, the shadows deepening on his face.

1/2

0:10 Thu, Jan 20 –

Chapter 20

“I don’t know what happened to her after that,” he

voice again. Not once. And the scicams He ho

Stopped. Not faded. Not silenced by mercy. Just cu

a

64

“Or to that little girl she kept calling to. I never heard the woman’s

1. d. “The screams stopped too

My stomach knotted, twisting itself into something sharp and unbearable.

I bit down on my lip until I tasted iron. My thoughts turned over themselves, wild and frantic. What if that child – what if Aurenya

was…me?

No. It couldn’t be. I was Aurora. Aurora, the girl who’d been found on a bridge with no past. Aurora, who’d been given a family, a name,

and a place in the world. That was who I was. Wasn’t it?

But the dreams. The voice calling through the mist. The name that had chased me across sleep for weeks.

“It doesn’t make sense,” I whispered, more to myself than to him. “I was found when I was ten. I had no memories before that. None. Just

my name.”

“I know.”

“Do you think I’m her?” The words tumbled out before I could stop them, raw and trembling. “Do you think I’m Aurenya?”

The air between us shifted. Zayn froze, his shoulders going rigid, his jaw tightening as though I’d just dropped something impossible in his lap. His eyes searched mine–sharp, restless–like he was rifling through my thoughts, desperate to see if I was serious or if I even

understood the weight of what I was asking.

Seconds dragged. My heart was so loud in my chest it felt like it belonged to the silence.

Comments

R Visitor

WOW

3 days ago

14

SHARE

1 Comments >

30