The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 398

Chapter 398

Aurora

Quick. Controlled. Gone almost the second it appeared, like he had spent years learning how to bury it before anyone could see.

For a moment neither of us spoke.

The fire cracked quietly in the hearth, a soft sound that filled the space between us while the weight of what he’d said settled into my chest.

Choose.

Reject.

Two simple words that suddenly felt enormous.

I looked down at my hands again, my fingers twisting together unconsciously inside the sleeves of the oversized hoodie.

“So eventually…” I said slowly, trying to make sense of it out loud, “I’ll have to pick one of you.”

Zayn didn’t respond immediately.

He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees, his gaze fixed somewhere on the floor like he was studying the grain of the wood.

“That’s usually how it works,” he said quietly after a moment.

The way he said it made my stomach twist.

Usually.

Nothing about this felt usual.

“And the other one…” I hesitated.

His jaw tightened again.

“The other one gets rejected, I finished.

The word sounded ugly when spoken out loud.

Zayn nodded once, though it looked more like a small movement meant to keep himself composed than actual agreement.

“Yeah.”

I lifted my head and studied him carefully.

“You’re talking about it like it’s normal.”

“It is normal,” he said.

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Chapter 398

“No, it’s not.”

That got a small, humorless huff out of him.

“For people with one mate bond?” he said. “Sure. But supernatural bonds have rules. Old ones.”

He leaned back again, dragging a hand through his hair as if the whole conversation was exhausting him.

“If a bond splits like this, the magic won’t settle until it’s corrected.”

“Corrected,” I repeated quietly.

He nodded once.

“One bond becomes permanent.”

“And the other?”

His eyes met mine again.

“It breaks.”

The word hung between us.

Break.

I felt a strange pressure building behind my ribs.

“And when it breaks…?” I asked.

Zayn shrugged slightly, but the movement looked forced.

“The rejected bond fades.”

“Just like that?”

“No.”

He looked away again.

“It’s not painless.”

Something cold slid down my spine.

“How not painless?”

His fingers drummed once against his knee before he finally answered.

“For the person doing the rejecting it feels like tearing something out of your chest.”

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Chapter 398

I swallowed.

“And for the person being rejected?”

This time he didn’t answer right away.

The silence stretched.

Long enough that I almost thought he wouldn’t respond at all.

When he finally spoke, his voice had dropped lower.

“Worse.”

I stared at him.

“How much worse?”

Zayn exhaled slowly through his nose.

“The bond doesn’t just disappear. It fights it.”

My heart started beating a little faster.

“Fights it how?”

“Pain,” he said simply. “Physical pain. Emotional pain. It depends on how strong the bond was.”

I shifted slightly on the couch.

“And ours?”

His eyes flicked toward me again.

Sharp.

Unreadable.

“Strong,” he said.

The word landed heavily.

For a moment the room felt too quiet again.

I stared at the fire for a few seconds, watching the flames move slowly behind the glass.

Then something else occurred to me.

“Wait,” I said.

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11:39 am P POM

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