The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 372

The Human Among Wolves

Chapter 372

Aurora

I looked from Zade to the room again–the familiar walls, the familiar beds, the soft glow from the lamp on my roommate’s nightstand. Everything looked exactly the same as the morning we left for the ski trip. Her blanket still thrown halfway off the mattress, her shoes still kicked under the edge of the bed like she always left them.

My chest tightened.

Do they know I’m missing?

And if they know… are they worried?

Or are they all just going on with their lives while I-

“Princess?”

Zade’s voice cut through the spiral, soft but urgent.

I snapped my gaze back to him.

“This is a dream,” I said quietly. It wasn’t a question. I could feel it–something off in the air, too still, too weightless.

He nodded once. No usual smirk. No teasing glint in his eyes. Just seriousness–deep, heavy, the kind that made my stomach

twist.

“Zayn and… some other guy are looking for you,” he said, frowning like he was trying to remember the name.

“Kael?” I offered.

“Yes. Him.” He nodded again.

“And I don’t have much time.” His expression tightened, frustration flickering across it. “I’ve been trying for days to get into

your dreams. Every time I reached for you, something blocked me. Whatever they put on you–it’s fading now, or cracking,

since I was finally able to slip through.”

He stepped closer, eyes searching mine, sharp and worried. “Where are you?”

“Russia,” I breathed. “I think. They speak Russian, it’s freezing, the air feels different… I don’t know. I was kept in some tiny

room for days and then they- they took me to an auction and I was sold-”

1/3

“Sold?” he repeated, his voice snapping like a blade leaving its sheath. His whole body stilled. “What? You were sold already?”

He shot up from the foot of my bed, pacing, running both hands through his hair. “Fuck.”

He looked shattered by it, and for a second I forgot how complicated things were between him and his father. His anger wasn’t controlled or calm like Zayn’s. It was raw. Bare. Almost panicked.

“Look,” he said finally, turning back to me. “I know it seemed like I was on my father’s side, and I know how it looked, but I wasn’t. I was trying to protect all of you. You, Zayn, Zion, Zakai… everyone. He’s-” his jaw clenched, the muscle ticking hard. “He’s a monster, Aurora.”

I stared at him, really looked at him. I expected to see lies somewhere–something cold, something rehearsed. But all I saw was guilt. Real, heavy guilt sitting in his eyes like it had been there for years.

My throat tightened. “Where are they now? Zayn and Kael?”

“On the way to Russia,” he said.

I froze. “Already? They figured it out?”

“Yeah,” he said with a humorless breath. “Faster than any of us expected.”

“But how…?”

Zade exhaled sharply. “Father’s right hand. Zayn dragged the information out of him. And-” he hesitated, meeting my eyes with a grim look, “—let’s just say it was bloody.”

The words lingered between us, heavy and terrifying, and for the first time since I was taken, hope sparked–tiny and fragile,

but real.

“Who bought you?” Zade asked–then winced, like the words tasted wrong the moment they left his mouth.

I swallowed. “Some man named Sergei… Morozov, I think. An Alpha.”

Zade stopped pacing. His head snapped toward me.

“Oh, fuck,” he breathed. Not loudly–but the way someone curses when a truth slams into them like a punch. “I’ve heard of

him. He’s ruthless. Strategic. He doesn’t buy anything he can’t use.” His jaw tightened. “You have to be careful until Zayn gets

there. Very careful.”

I nodded stiffly, fingers curling in the sheets.

2/3

“Do you remember anything?” he pressed. “Anything that could help them find you. The house, the surroundings–anything.”

I closed my eyes, trying to make sense of the scattered images in my head. They came in flashes–short, broken pieces–but

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify