The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 418

Chapter 418

I pushed myself up into a sitting position, brushing my hands off.

“That proves nothing,” I muttered.

“It proves a lot.”

I looked up at him sharply.

“No, it doesn’t. It proves I’m tired.”

“It proves your body isn’t ready.”

“For what?” I snapped.

“For control.”

The word landed differently.

J

Quieter.

He stepped closer, crouching slightly so he was level with me, his gaze steady.

“When you shifted,” he said, “you didn’t decide to do it.”

“I know.”

“Your body did.”

I exhaled sharply.

“I know that too.”

“And when it did, you lost control because you don’t have the strength to hold it.”

1 frowned.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“It does,” he said, his voice still calm, still controlled. “Right now, everything inside you is stronger than you. Your instincts, your reactions, your other half. If you can’t control your own body like this-” he gestured toward the ground, toward where I had just failed, “-you’re not controlling it when it

matters.”

I sat there, breathing slightly heavier than I should have been for something so simple.

“…So what, I just do push-ups until I magically turn into a controlled wolf?” I asked, frustration creeping into my voice.

“No,” he said. “You do this until your body listens to you.”

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Chapter 418

I stared at him.

Then looked down at my hands.

Then back up at him again.

“…I hate this already.”

“That’s a good sign.”

“It’s not.”

“It means you’re not quitting.”

I let out a quiet, annoyed breath and pushed myself back into position.

“Fine.”

The next few hours blurred together in a way that felt endless.

Not because time moved slowly-

but because everything hurt.

Zayn didn’t go easy on me.

Not even a little.

040

Push-ups turned into planks, planks turned into running, running turned into drills that had no name but still somehow left my lungs burning and my legs shaking like I had never used them before in my life.

Every time I stopped, he told me to keep going.

Every time I complained, he ignored it.

Every time I said I couldn’t-

he just looked at me like that wasn’t an option.

At some point I dropped onto the ground again, breathing hard, my arms and legs refusing to cooperate anymore as I stated up at the sky.

“This is stupid,” I muttered.

Zayn stood over me, barely out of breath.

“No, it’s not.”

“It is,” I said, pushing myself up onto my elbows. “None of this has anything to do with shifting.”

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PP

Chapter 418

“It has everything to do with it.”

“You keep saying that.”

“Because it’s true.”

I groaned and dropped my head back.

“I don’t need to do this to turn into a wolf.”

“You don’t,” he agreed.

I blinked.

“…Then why am I doing this?”

“Because next time you shift,” he said, his voice lowering slightly, more serious now, “I want you to come back.”

“What do you mean?”

His gaze held mine.

“I mean I don’t want you losing yourself like that again.”

The memory hit instantly.

The rage.

The blood.

The way everything had disappeared except instinct.

I swallowed.

“…Yeah,” I said quietly.

“Exactly.”

Silence stretched between us for a moment.

Then he stepped back and nodded toward the open space behind him.

“Up.”

I closed my eyes briefly.

“You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

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