The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 373

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Chapter 373

“He pushed me into the passenger seat of his car, and then we were moving. At first it was quiet, just the sound of tires crunching over snow. We drove through this narrow road for a while–maybe ten minutes? Long enough that I realized the

auction house was hidden in the middle of nowhere.”

I shook my head, trying to pull the pieces into a straight line.

“We reached a crossroads first. He turned left. I remember because there was a broken road sign, bent sideways like a tree had

fallen on it at some point. After that, the road got wider, straighter. Less forest, more open fields–just white, endlessly white.”

My fingers twitched in my lap.

“Then another turn–right this time. I don’t know how long we drove after that, but it felt far. Like really far. The houses

disappeared. Then the streetlights. Then everything. It was just this empty stretch of road cutting through forest. No curves.

No intersections. Just… straight. For miles.”

I swallowed hard.

“And the trees… they were huge. Black trunks, branches so covered with snow they looked like bones. We drove down that

road long enough for me to memorize it. Long enough for me to know exactly how trapped I was.”

I blinked slowly.

“Eventually, we reached it. The gate. You can’t miss it. Massive metal bars, taller than anything I’ve ever seen. They didn’t

open quickly–they opened slowly, like something mechanical was dragging them apart.”

My voice dropped.

“And behind that gate… the mansion. Huge. White stone, dark roof, windows with frost climbing up the glass. Lights were on

inside, but they didn’t look warm. They looked… controlled. Like every bulb was placed just to show how perfect everything

was. The driveway curved slightly before straightening out. And there were trees all around the mansion too–lined up

perfectly. Not natural. Like someone planted them to block the view from outside.”

Zade’s eyes sharpened as he memorized every detail,

Then his expression shifted–tense, urgent.

“I have to go,” he said, and for the first time since he appeared, I heard real worry in his voice. “But before I do–one more

thing.”

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He stepped closer.

“Do you have a mark on your body? Somewhere hidden? Your leg, maybe your stomach?”

“On my wrist,” I whispered, lifting my hand slowly toward him.

He froze when he saw it–a faint flicker of anger tightening his shoulders. “That makes sense. That’s why I couldn’t reach you.

Why Zayn couldn’t sense you at all.” His voice dropped. “They sealed your magic. Completely shut it down.”

“But it’s fading now,” he continued, eyes rising to meet mine. “It must be. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here. You wouldn’t be

dreaming clearly. Aurora…”

ce softened–but the softness didn’t hide the steel underneath.

WID

do anything to you–anything–you need to break that seal. Rip it apart. I don’t care how. Use the pain, the fear,

ou have left inside you. Just break it.” His stare deepened. “Hurt him if you have to. Do not let him claim you.”

A faint shimmer began eating at the edges of him–like smoke dissolving into light.

“No, no–wait-” I reached out, but my hand passed through him like mist.

“Aurora,” he said, already fading, “hold on. Zayn is coming.”

And then he disappeared-

the room dissolved-

and I jolted awake.

It was morning now.

Not the warm, golden kind that melted gently over rooftops. No–this was the hollow, grey–blue hour before dawn, when the

world felt too quiet and too cold to belong to anyone at all. Maybe five a.m., maybe earlier. Time felt strange here, stretched

thin and brittle.

I pushed myself out of the bed, my body stiff from sleep and fear and everything in between. The cold hit me immediately–a

sharp, unwelcome kiss along my skin–and I wrapped my arms around myself as I crossed the room.

The window waited like a single crack in the world, the only connection I had to anything real.

I pressed my palms to the cold glass and looked out.

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Chapter 373

Snow.

Endless white swallowing the dark trees and the long driveway.

Russia.

Too far. Too quiet. Too hopeless.

My breath fogged against the glass, blurring the view, and suddenly–finally–something inside me broke.

The tears slid down before I even felt them.

Soft at first.

Then harder.

Warmer than anything else in this frozen place.

I bowed my head, shoulders shaking as the entire weight of the last days crashed into me all at once. I didn’t sob. It wasn’t

loud. It wasn’t dramatic.

Just silent tears that felt like they’d been trapped inside me for years.

“I want to go home,” I whispered, the words barely forming, barely making it past the ache in my throat.

God, I wanted home.

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