The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 309

Chapter 309

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I looked away, staring at the dark ceiling. “I know them. I know how they laugh, how my mom hums when she cooks, how my dad checks the locks twice before bed. That’s not something you fake for almost two decades.” My voice softened. “Whatever they are… whatever you think you

sensed… they’re still my parents.”

I felt Zayn shift beside me but he didn’t interrupt, and I was grateful for that.

“They’ve never given me a reason not to trust them,” I added, more firmly now, like I was drawing a line even I wasn’t allowed to cross. “So no. I don’t believe they’re hiding something like that from me.”

“They did lie to you,” he said softly, like he was afraid that raising his voice might shatter something fragile between us.

“They never told you that you weren’t theirs. They never told you where they found you. Not until you confronted them-”

“Stop.” I cut him off before he could finish, my chest tightening. I sat up a little straighter, forcing myself to breathe. “They did that to protect

me.”

I turned to face him fully now. “I didn’t handle it well at first. I know that. I was angry, confused, hurt–probably all at once. But I forgave

them.” My voice steadied as I spoke, grounded in the truth of it. “And none of that changes what they are to me.”

I swallowed, then added more quietly, “They’re still my parents. They’re the ones who raised me, who stayed up with me when I was sick, who showed up to every school event, who loved me when I was impossible to love.”

I met his gaze, unwavering.

“Biology doesn’t erase eighteen years. And it doesn’t rewrite who they are to me.”

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“Rory,” he said again, more gently this time, like he was trying to steady both of us at

once. “I’m not telling you this to hurt you. And I’m not trying to start a fight.”

He shifted closer, lowering his voice. “But I know what I felt.”

I shook my head slowly, disbelief curling tight in my chest. “Zayn-”

“They’re not human,” he repeated, firmer now, not loud, just certain. “Not fully. I would’ve known if they were. It’s instinct. It’s not something

I can just mistake.”

I looked away from him, my gaze drifting to the ceiling, to the faint shadows cast by the streetlight outside. My heart was beating too fast. “You’re wrong,” I said, though my voice lacked the confidence I wanted it to have. “You have to be.”

He didn’t interrupt me. He never did when I sounded like this.

“I grew up with them,” I went on. “Every birthday. Every scraped knee. Every argument, every apology. They’re… normal. They’re just my

parents.”

“I know,” he said quietly. “And I’m not saying they aren’t that. To you.”

I turned back to him sharply. “Then what are you saying?”

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12:42 Thu, Jan 29 BGB.

Chapter 309

“That there’s more,” he answered.

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“Something they didn’t tell you. Or maybe something they didn’t think mattered. Or maybe something they thought they were protecting you

from.” He exhaled slowly. “I don’t know which one it is.”

The room felt suddenly too small, the air too warm. I pulled the blanket higher around myself, grounding myself in the familiar weight of it.

“You’re basing all of this on a smell,” I said. “Lavender.”

“It wasn’t just lavender,” he replied. “It was what was underneath it. Masked, layered, intentional. Humans don’t do that. They don’t even know

how.”

“That doesn’t mean-”

“It means they knew what I was the moment I walked into that house,” he said. “And they weren’t surprised. Not even a little.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. I hated that part of me–the tiny traitorous part–that remembered how calm my mother had been.

How observant. How careful.

“They welcomed you,” I said finally. “They were kind. They didn’t treat you like a threat.”

“I know,” he said. “That’s what scares me.”

I stared at him. “Scares you?”

“They weren’t afraid,” he clarified. “At all.”

Silence stretched between us. The house creaked softly around us, settling alive with warmth and quiet. Somewhere downstairs, a clock ticked steadily, each second landing heavier than the last.

“I don’t want to think about this tonight,” I said at last, my voice barely above a whisper. “It’s Christmas Eve. I just… I want one night where things are simple.”

Zayn hesitated, then nodded. “Okay.”

He reached out, brushing his thumb against my knuckles. “I won’t push. I promise.”

I let myself lean into him, resting my head against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. He wrapped an arm around me instinctively, holding me like he always did–like he was anchoring me to something solid.

But even as my eyes closed, my thoughts wouldn’t quiet.

Because no matter how much I wanted him to be wrong…

Zayn had never been wrong about instinct before.