The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Zayn

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“Yes,” I whispered, my throat raw. “I saw it. With my own fucking eyes.”

Zade exhaled sharply through the receiver, and I swore I heard him get up, the sound of movement in the background–floorboards creaking, something being knocked over. He muttered a curse under his breath, too low for me to cate all of it, but enough for me to know he wasn’t taking this lightly.

“F**k,” he hissed finally. A pause. “He really showed you that?”

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The question lodged in my chest. I didn’t know what scared me more–that I’d seen it, or that Zade knew exactly what I was talking about without me having to explain.

“He said it would be mine,” I forced out, my voice breaking. “That when he’s gone, I’ll be the one running it.”

Silence again. Then Zade’s voice, sharper now but unsteady. “That’s not supposed to be your burden. Not you.”

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The words made my heart stumble. For once, his tone didn’t carry mockery or anger–it carried something I didn’t recognize in him: fear.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice sharp, desperate.

Another pause. I could hear him breathing on the other end, steady but heavier than usual, like he was debating whether to open his mouth at all.

Finally, Zade spoke, his tone clipped, stripped of its usual arrogance. “The house isn’t new, Zayn. It’s been running for decades. Longer than we’ve even been

alive.”

I knew that. The father told me that.

“He calls it a business,” Zade continued, “but it’s more than that–it’s a fucking empire. Every kingdom, every clan, every high–ranking creature out there

has dipped their hands into it at some point. Our father didn’t build it–he inherited it. And when he’s gone, someone else has to carry it on.”

My chest tightened so much I could barely breathe. “And you knew?”

“Yes,” Zade admitted, with no hesitation now. His voice was steady, but there was a rawness underneath, like every word was costing him. “I’ve known for

years.”

I felt my stomach twist, bile rising. “And you didn’t say anything? Not to me, not to anyone?”

“What the fuck would I say?” Zade snapped, the sharpness back in his tone, though it cracked around the edges. “Do you think I like it? Do you think I want

to inherit a throne tied to chains and blood? I’m the heir, Zayn. My path is already carved in stone. But that house? That legacy?” His voice dropped, rough.

“That was never supposed to be yours.”

I pressed a shaking hand over my mouth, trying to swallow down the sickness, the rage, and the betrayal clawing up my throat.

“Then why me?” I demanded, my voice breaking. “Why the fuck would he show me that?”

Silence. For a few heartbeats, I thought he wouldn’t answer.

Then Zade’s voice came, low and almost bitter. “Because he’s already decided. You’re the youngest. The expendable one. He thinks you’ll bend, Zayn. He

thinks he can mold you into the perfect shadow to run his filth, while I wear the rown.”

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11:59 Thu, Jan 29 BBB.

Chapter 54

His words slammed into me like a blow. My whole body trembled. Expendable. Mdable. That’s what I was to my father.

I couldn’t breathe.

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“Expendable?” The word ripped out of me like a snarl. My hand clenched around the phone so hard my knuckles went white. “That’s what I am to him?

That’s what I am to all of you?”

“Zayn-”

“Don’t you fucking say my name like that!” I snapped, my voice shaking, the anger spilling out of me faster than I could hold it back. “You knew. You’ve always known, and you just–what? Let me stumble around in the dark like an idiot while you and Father carved up my life for me?”

“I didn’t-”

“Bullshit!” I shouted, standing, pacing the length of my room because sitting stil made me feel like I was going to explode from the inside out. “You sit there on your high fucking throne, acting like you’re the only one carrying a burden, when really, you’ve just been waiting for me to take the fall. For me to

be shoved into the dirt so you don’t have to dirty your hands!”

“Zayn, listen to me-”

“No! You listen for once!” My throat burned, my chest heaving with every word. saw those girls, Zade. I saw the fear in their eyes. The way they looked at me like I was already one of the monsters keeping them locked up. And you–you knew about it. You let it happen. And now you’re telling me it’s going to

be mine?”

The silence on the other end made my skin crawl, every beat of it making me feel like I was going insane. My voice cracked, but I didn’t care.

“I’m not fucking expendable. I’m not his puppet. And I sure as hell won’t be yours.”

For a moment, there was silence–then Zade’s voice snapped through the receiver!

“Shut the fuck up, Zayn!” His roar was so sharp it made me flinch. “You think I wanted this? You think I had a choice in any of it? Don’t you dare stand there and pretend you’re the only one bleeding under his hand!”

I froze, the phone hot against my ear, his anger slamming into me like a physical blow.

“You don’t know what it’s like to be me,” Zade continued, his voice rough, ragged “Every move I make is watched. Every fucking breath I take is measured against what he wants from me. You hate being expendable? Try being irreplaceable. Try carrying the weight of a crown you never asked for, knowing if you falter for even a second, the whole kingdom burns!”

My chest heaved. “That doesn’t make this right!”

“No, it doesn’t,” he spat. “But don’t act like you’re some innocent child being dragged into the dark for the first time. You’re part of this family, Zayn. You carry the blood just like I do. And that means you carry the stain too, whether you like it or not.”

His words cut deep, twisting something inside me I didn’t want to acknowledge.

I pressed a hand against my forehead, my pulse pounding. “So what–you’re just ne with it? With all of it? With them rotting in cages while we sit in

castles pretending we’re gods?”

“Of course I’m not fine with it!” Zade snapped back, his voice breaking at the edges. “But wanting and having are two different things. This is who we are.

This is what he made us.”

His breathing was heavy, uneven, like he was shaking on the other end of the line For once, it wasn’t just me unraveling–it was both of us.

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