The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 55

Chapter 55

Zayn

91%

I let out a bitter laugh, sharp and humorless, even as my chest ached. “What hende us? You’re really going to use that excuse? You’re just going to roll

over and let him decide who we are?”

“Zayn-

“No, fuck you, Zade,” I snapped, pacing again, my bare feet slamming against the floor. “You’re not the only one who gets a say in this family. You’re not the only one choking under his hand. If you knew about the house all this time, if you’ve been carrying this dirty little secret–then tell me.” My voice dropped,

low and seething. “Do Zion and Zakai know?”

The silence that followed was deafening.

I clenched my jaw and pressed harder. “Do they know about the girls? About the uctions? About the way he calls them merchandise, like they’re not even human? Or are they still tucked away in their neat little roles, blissfully ignorant while you and Father decide who carries the filth?”

Zade’s breathing grew louder and heavier, his anger radiating through the line. “Don’t drag them into this, Zayn.”

“Why not?” I shot back, my voice cracking. “They’re our brothers. Zakai may note the heir, but he’s still the second–born. Zion–he worships you, Zade. If

this is our family’s legacy, don’t you dare pretend they don’t deserve to know ito.”

His voice snapped, sharp enough to cut. “They’re not ready!”

My chest tightened at the admission, my voice shaking with fury. “Not ready? Or are you just protecting them? Keeping their hands clean while mine get

dragged through the dirt? You’d rather I rot in this with you than risk them ever looking at you differently, is that it?”

“Zayn-

“No!” I screamed into the phone, my throat raw. “Answer me! Do they fucking know?”

“NO, THEY DON’T FUCKING KNOW!” He roared, and I had to yank the phone back from my ear. “Zakai doesn’t know. Zion doesn’t know. They don’t have a single clue about that house, about what Father does, or about what’s waiting for us when he’s gone. Do you hear me? Not. A. Clue.”

My stomach twisted, my chest burning, but he didn’t stop. His voice only grew hasher, laced with something wild, something desperate.

“And they won’t know. Not as long as I breathe.” His words were like iron, unbending. “I’ve spent my whole fucking life holding this family together, Zayn. I carry the crown on my shoulders; I carry Father’s expectations in my blood. Do you understand what that means? I decide what they need to know. I decide when they need to know it.”

I opened my mouth, but he cut me off, his fury boiling over.

“You are the youngest. The last–born. You don’t get to lecture me like you’re son fucking martyr dragged into the dark for the first time. You’ve been

shielded your whole life–by me, by Zakai, by Zion, even by Father in his twisted way. You don’t get to spit on me for finally showing you the truth.”

1

I gripped the phone tighter, my knuckles white, my throat burning with words I couldn’t force out.

Zade’s breathing was heavy and sharp in my ear. Then, softer but no less cutting, he added, “So remember your place, little brother. You don’t get to demand answers from me. You don’t get to question why I protect them. You should be thanking me for keeping their hands clean this long.”

“My place?” I repeated, my voice low, almost shaking with disbelief. “That’s what you think this is about? You standing above me, handing down scraps of truth whenever you feel like it? You really think being the oldest gives you the right to decide who suffers and who stays blind?”

O

1/3

11:59 Thu, Jan 29 BBB.

Chapter 55

“Zayn-”

91%

“No.” My voice cracked, raw, but I pushed through, louder this time. “You don’t get to shut me up. Not after what I saw. You talk about protecting me,

protecting Zakai and Zion, like it’s some noble sacrifice. But do you even hear yourself? Protecting us from what? From the filth you’ve already accepted as

your own? From the monsters Father keeps in his closet?”

His silence only made the rage inside me build. I dragged a hand down my face, shaking.

“You say you’ve carried the weight of this family, carried Father’s expectations, carried the crown. Fine. Maybe you have. But if that’s true-” I swallowed

hard, my throat burning. “Then tell me something.”

I paused, the words fighting me, twisting in my chest like knives. “Did you know bout the woman in the basement?”

For a moment, I thought the line had gone dead. I couldn’t even hear him breathe.

My voice dropped to a whisper, but it was sharper than a blade. “The woman. And the child. Did you know they were down there?”

The silence stretched, heavy and unbearable.

I pressed harder, my voice breaking as I forced the words out. “Don’t lie to me, Zade. Don’t you dare lie to me. You knew about the house, about the girls

upstairs. Did you know about them too? Or is that another horror you decided we were too weak to hear about? Another secret you kept while Father

dragged me into hell with him?”

1

My hands shook so badly I nearly dropped the phone. My chest was tight, each breath shallow.

“Answer me,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “Did you know?”

Zade’s voice came, low at first, almost strangled. “Stop, Zayn.”

I clenched the phone tighter. “Answer me.”

His breath hitched–sharp, heavy–before his voice tore through the line, raw and furious.

“Yes!” he roared. “Yes, I knew!”

The sound of it ripped right through me. My knees buckled, and I sat heavily on the edge of my bed, the phone shaking against my ear.

Zade didn’t stop. His words poured out, harsh and relentless. “You think you’ve covered some great secret? That you’ve caught me in some filthy lie? I knew about the woman. I knew about the child. I’ve known for years.” His voice hacked and then hardened again. “And do you want to know why I never

told you? Why Zakai and Zion still live in blissful ignorance?”

I couldn’t even speak. My throat closed.

“Because I refuse to let them break the way you’re breaking now!” Zade’s voice was a blade, cutting with every syllable. “You’re the youngest, Zayn. You

were supposed to be the one spared. Not dragged into the filth. Not haunted by the same nightmares I’ve been living with since I was your age.”

2

My chest heaved, my vision blurring. “You” My voice cracked. “You just let it happen.”

“You think I had a choice?” Zade snapped, his voice shaking with fury and something that sounded too close to grief. “Every time I close my eyes, I see them. I hear them. Do you think that makes me proud? Do you think carrying Father’s sins on my shoulders makes me strong? It makes me fucking sick,

Zayn. But I didn’t have the luxury of pretending this family was clean. And now either do you.”

1

I pressed my free hand to my mouth, my whole body trembling.