The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46

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I couldn’t breathe. The room seemed to shrink around me, walls closing in. My voice cracked. “This is… slavery.”

“Call it what you like,” he replied coolly. “It has always been part of the kingdom long before you were born. It is part of what keeps order among the races. To some, this house is a necessary evil. To others, it is opportunity. But it exists because the world demands it.”

I shook my head again, harder this time, as though I could shake the words from my ears. My fists curled at my sides. “And you brought me here–to see

this? Why?”

His gaze locked onto mine, sharp and unyielding. “Because one day, you will be responsible for it.”

The words hollowed me out. I took a step back, my shoulder brushing the doorframe. “What?”

“You are the youngest,” he said, his voice calm but edged with steel. “Zade will inherit the throne. Zion and Zakai hold their places within the council and the court. This task falls to you. The bloodline must control it, Zayn. And when I am gone, it will be yours to oversee.”

I stared at him, disbelief crashing over me like a wave I couldn’t swim against. I looked at the girl again, her red eyes darting up to meet mine for the

briefest second before she lowered her head again, shrinking into herself.

My father didn’t flinch. He didn’t soften. His voice carried finality like the toll of a bell.

“This is your duty. Accept it.”

I stood frozen, my father’s words still ringing in my ears. Duty. Accept it. As if this was just another lesson, another chore expected of me. My gaze flicked once more to the girl in the room–those bright, terrified eyes–and a sick feeling twisted low in my stomach.

But my father didn’t wait for my response. He turned, stepping back into the hallway with the same composure he always carried, and motioned for me to follow. His hand was already reaching for the next door.

I hesitated, glancing back at the girl one last time. She hadn’t moved. She just sat there, small and silent, as though her fear had caged her more tightly

than the room itself.

And then the door clicked shut.

The hallway seemed even darker now, the polished wood of the doors suddenly sinister, like a row of secrets lined up and waiting to be revealed. My father opened the next one, and once again, I followed.

Inside, the room was nearly identical–bare, suffocating, a prison disguised as simplicity. But the girl here was different. Blonde hair, brushed carefully over her shoulders. She sat on the single chair by the table, her hands folded neatly in her lap. Her skin was pale, her eyes a strange silver hue that marked her as something… not human. Fae, maybe. She didn’t look at us at first. It was as if he had been instructed not to. Only when my father cleared his throat did her chin lift ever so slightly, her gaze darting to him, then away.

“Every one of them,” he said, his voice calm, almost conversational, “is chosen carefully. Bloodlines. Beauty. Youth. Traits that will fetch the highest price.”

The girl’s hands trembled faintly in her lap. She didn’t speak.

I swallowed hard, my throat burning. My voice cracked when I whispered, “You… Nou keep them here like this? Locked up?”

“They are protected,” my father said smoothly. “Fed. Groomed. Taught to be obedient. It is more than they would have had out there.” His tone left no room for debate, as though this explanation was perfectly reasonable, perfectly moral.

We moved on. Toward another door. To another room.

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11:58 Thu, Jan 29 GB B.

The Human Among Wolves