The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 38

The walk out of the academy felt like it stretch

tried to claw its way out of me. Students in the

her’s presence beside me silenced every thought, every question that when they saw him, some bowing their heads, others pretending not to

stare, but everyone noticed. They always did. The King never passed unnoticed.

I kept my steps measured and steady, though my palms were slick. My chest felt hollow, like I’d left some vital part of myself behind when I shut the dorm door. With each echo of our footsteps, the knot in my stomach pulled tighter.

Outside, the convoy waited. Glossy black limousines lined the front drive, with guards standing like pillars of iron on either side. My father didn’t break stride. Of course he didn’t–this was his world, built around him, waiting for him to step inside and command it.

When the driver opened the door, I hesitated for a heartbeat before sliding into the back seat after him. The leather was cold against my skin. The door shut with a weighty thud, sealing us in, and suddenly the noise of the academy faded away, replaced by the low hum of the

engine.

We didn’t move at first. He sat across from me, silent and composed, the way he always was. His eyes flicked once to me, sharp and assessing, and then to the tinted window. He didn’t need to speak to make me feel smaller, like I was still the child trying too hard to

impress him.

When the car finally pulled away, the motion was smooth, too smooth, like the world outside was slipping past unnoticed. The city blurred into trees, then into open stretches of road. We drove for what felt like hours, though I knew it couldn’t have been that long yet. The silence stretched, growing heavier with every passing mile.

I shifted in my seat, my hands curling and uncurling against my knees. I wanted to ask where we were going and what this was about- but the words stuck. He had a way of making silence louder than any command.

I watched him instead. The way he sat perfectly upright, his hands folded neatly, his face unreadable. Every part of him was deliberate. Calculated. A reminder of what power looked like when it no longer needed to prove itself.

The landscape outside grew sparser, emptier, until there was nothing but a ribbon of road cutting throu stop. Still, he said nothing.

1. is. Still, we didn’t

And with every mile that rolled beneath the tires, my unease grew sharper. Because if he was taking me this far away from the academy, from everyone else… then whatever was coming wasn’t something he wanted witnessed.

ing me gels.

I swallowed hard, staring at the endless stretch of road ahead, my pulse quickening with every turn of the wheels.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his voice broke through.

“Zayn,” my father said, his tone even, as if he had been waiting for exactly this moment to speak. “There are things you have not yet seen. Things you must understand.”

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0:22 Thư, Jan 20

Chapter 38

chifted my elves tightening What do UN PAIN

140

dn’t any sight mere Thetid, he fooked on

thate of the sten se vean Smi

Window, the faintest reflect

The fave minute

Pu 10 g

1 Dawned, confused. “I don’t

“You will,” he cut in smoothly, the weight of his authenty making the words final. He didn’t raise his voice, but I felt the warning in i

do not interrupt

The car suddenly stopped in front of a large house, elegant and carefully kept, with tall windows and nowerbeds trimmed neatly along thes path. White shutters framed the windows, and ivy curled up one side as if this place had been loved for years. It looked almost inviting

Almost safe.

But my gut twisted. Something was wrong.

My father stepped outside the limo first, and I followed. The front doors swung wide as though we were expected. We slowly stepped

inside.

Inside, the air was thick with perfume–sweet, cloying, and almost enough to mask the other smells beneath it. Faint iron. Dampness. A trace of something rotten.

The first impression was elegance. Chandeliers glowed overhead, scattering warm light across polished floors. The foyer was wide and inviting, a sweep of carpet leading deeper into the house. The scent of lavender clung to the air, strong enough to mask whatever might

lie beneath it.

Hallways branched out in either direction, lined with closed doors and decorated with tasteful paintings–landscapes, portraits, nothing out of place. Every detail whispered wealth, charm, respectability.

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