The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 44

Chapter 44

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Zade chuckled low in his throat, though there was no warmth in the sound. He died me, eyes sharp, calculating, like a predator assessing whether prey might be more than it seems. “Brave,” he murmured. “Or foolish. I’m still deciding which.”

I forced myself to meet his gaze, even though my heart was hammering. “Maybe th.”

That earned me a glint in his eyes–something almost like amusement, though dark and dangerous. He tilted his head, smirking, but there was nothing kind in it. “Well, Aurora,” he said finally, voice curling around my name like smoke, “you think answers are what you’ll find here… then you’ve clearly never met my father.”

“Wasn’t going to,” I murmured, more to myself than to him. My voice sounded smaller than I wanted it to, but I couldn’t take it back.

I forced myself to look up at him, gathering whatever courage I could scrape together. “Can you please… not tell anyone?” My throat felt tight, words shaky as they slipped out, “I know we just met, and you’re obviously not my biggest fan but no one can know. About me. About what I said.”

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For a moment, Zade just studied me, silent, his dark eyes roaming over my face like he was weighing my worth, deciding whether I was lying or if keeping my secret was even worth his time. That silence stretched on long enough to make my chest ache.

Finally, he gave a single nod. “Alright, beautiful,” he said smoothly, that damn smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. “I’ll keep your secret. But under one condition.”

I almost rolled my eyes–almost. With him, there was always something. Always rings, always games. My stomach twisted with irritation and nerves. “What?” I asked, bracing myself. Don’t ask me something stupid. Don’t ask me something stupid.

He leaned back slightly, folding his arms over his chest with the ease of someone who knew he had the upper hand. “Stay away from Zayn.”

Oh.

That was… not what I expected. For a second, all I could do was blink at him, surprised. But then, the reality sank in, and relief flickered faintly through me. That? That I could do. That was easy.

“Okay,” I said, nodding quickly, too quickly. “Deal.”

I looked toward the door. “I have to go now,” I added, my voice too tight, too hurried. I turned before he could say anything else, before I could mess up and

let something slip that I’d regret forever.

Because if 1 stayed a second longer, I knew I’d be stupid enough to ask. Stupid enough to let the questions that had been clawing at me since I got here

finally tumble out of my mouth–like who was the woman his father kept locked in the basement? Did he know about her? Did he care? And if he did know, how

could he possibly sleep at night-

The door opened before I could even reach for it.

I froze, eyes snapping up.

And there he was.

Zayn.

He stood in the doorway, tall and broad, shoulders tense like he was carrying the weight of the world. His eyes–those stormy, unreadable eyes–landed on

me first, then flicked past my shoulder to his brother, and then back to me.

For a moment, he didn’t breathe. Didn’t move. He looked at me like I wasn’t real like he’d just seen something–or someone–he wasn’t supposed to. Like a

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11:57 Thu, Jan 29 BBB.

Chapter 44

ghost had stepped out of his past and was standing in front of him.

And he was alone.

No King at his side.

No father looming behind him.

Just Zayn, standing there with an expression I couldn’t read, a flicker of shock and something darker tightening his jaw.

My own breath caught, the air heavy between the three of us.

“Zayn,” I whispered, his name leaving my lips before I could stop it.

Comments

R Visitor

shes dumb.