The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 416

Chapter 416

Aurora

Zade’s gaze stayed on mine, sharp and unblinking, like he was trying to make sure every word settled exactly where it needed to.

“I don’t know who he is,” he said after a moment, his voice quieter now, more serious than I had ever heard it. “No name. No face. Nothing solid.”

“So you don’t know anything about him?” I asked.

Zade shook his head slightly.

“Only that he’s not someone you outrun easily,” he said. “And not someone you underestimate.”

That didn’t help.

At all.

I exhaled slowly, trying to steady the sudden tightness in my chest.

“Great,” I muttered under my breath.

Zade’s eyes softened just a fraction, though the edge in them didn’t disappear completely.

“I’m trying to find out more,” he added. “But you know how he is. He doesn’t share information unless he absolutely has to.”

I nodded.

The room felt smaller suddenly, like the walls had shifted closer without me noticing, like the weight of everything he was saying had settled into the air

and refused to move.

A hitman.

Somewhere out there.

Already moving.

Looking for me.

I swallowed.

“Zade…”

He tilted his head slightly.

“What?”

“If he finds me-”

“He won’t,” Zade cut in sharply.

1/7

11:14 am

Chapter 416

PPC

The sudden firmness in his voice made me pause.

For a moment, something real flickered there.

Not sarcasm.

Not indifference.

Something closer to… determination.

“You’re not alone anymore,” he added, quieter this time. “You have Zayn. And…” he hesitated for just a fraction of a second, “the other one.”

Kael.

The word wasn’t spoken, but it hung there anyway.

I looked at him carefully.

“You really think that’s enough?”

Zade’s lips curved slightly, but there was no humor in it.

“It has to be.”

Silence stretched between us again.

Heavy.

Then something in his expression shifted.

Subtle.

But enough.

Like he felt something changing.

“The dream’s starting to break,” he said quietly.

I felt it too now.

The edges of the room weren’t as sharp anymore.

The light from the window flickered slightly, like it didn’t belong to anything real.

“Wait,” I said quickly, leaning forward a little. “Zade-”

He stood up from the bed.

“I don’t have much time.”

0449

2/7

Chapter 416

My chest tightened.

“There’s something else,” he added, his voice lowering slightly. “Something you should tell Zayn.”

I frowned.

“What?”

For a brief moment, something almost unreadable crossed his face.

Then he said,

“I found something.”

“What kind of something?”

Zade’s eyes held mine.

“Something that belonged to our mother.”

“What?”

“I didn’t think anything was left,” he continued quietly. “But I found it hidden in one of the old rooms. Somewhere no one’s been in years.”

“What is it?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper now.

Zade hesitated just enough to make it matter.

“A pendant,” he said finally. “Silver. Small. Worn. She used to wear it all the time.”

Something in my chest tightened.

A strange, unfamiliar pull.

“If Father finds out I have it,” Zade said calmly, “it won’t stay in my hands for long.”

The room flickered again.

Stronger this time.

Like glass under pressure.

“Tell Zayn,” Zade added, his voice starting to blur at the edges as the dream began slipping. “I might have something that could matter more than we thought.”

“Zade-”

But he was already fading.

His outline blurring into the light, the room dissolving around him piece by piece.

3/7

1:14 am

pp

Chapter 416

“Stay alive, Aurora,” his voice echoed faintly. “That’s all that matters right now.”

And then-

everything disappeared.

I woke up with a sharp inhale.

The ceiling above me came into focus slowly, the dim light of early morning replacing the dream too quickly, too abruptly, like my mind hadn’t had time to catch up with the shift.

My heart was racing.

The room was quiet.

Real.

Not the academy.

Not a dream.

The house.

I turned my head.

Zayn was already awake.

He was sitting up slightly against the headboard, one arm resting loosely across his knee, his eyes already on me like he had been watching me for a while.

“You okay?” he asked quietly.

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, the blanket sliding down into my lap as I tried to steady my breathing.

“…Zade was in my dream again,” I said.

Zayn’s posture changed instantly.

“What?”

I looked at him.

“He tried to get into your dream first, but you blocked him,” I added.

A faint flicker of something passed through his expression.

“He told me something.”

Zayn straightened slightly.

“What?”

417

11:14 am

PP

Chapter 416

I swallowed.

“Your father,” I started, “he’s back in the kingdom.”

Zayn went still.

“And?” he asked, his voice quieter now.

“He knows I escaped,” I said. “And he hired someone.”

Zayn’s eyes darkened.

“Someone?”

“A hitman.”

Silence.

Heavy.

Sharp.

“He didn’t know his name,” I added quickly. “Zade said he doesn’t know anything about him. Just that he’s already on the move.”

“And…” I hesitated for a second.

His eyes flicked back to mine.

“What?”