The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 59

Chapter 59

Aurora

90%

I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it away. It was just a dream, nothing more. A trick of my subconscious, nothing worth remembering. I didn’t even know him, not really. I had only met him last night.

But then why was he in my head? Why was he in my dreams?

1 dragged in a shaky breath, pushing my palms over my face as if I could rub the memory out of me. My chest ached with confusion,

with guilt, with something else I refused to name.

With a long, frustrated sigh, I let my hands fall into my lap and stared at the ceiling. “Get a grip, Aurora,” I whispered to myself.

My gaze drifted across the room and landed on my desk. And there it was–the book.

My stomach tightened. F**k. The book.

The reminder hit me like a stone. Zayn and I were supposed to start on it today, to finally begin the translation. I had been waiting for this moment, obsessing over it, really. That book wasn’t just words on old pages; it was a key. To what, I still didn’t know–but I

felt it deep in my bones. It mattered. It had to.

I pushed myself off the bed with a groan, dragging my fingers through my hair before crossing the room. The closer I got, the heavier the air seemed to feel. My fingertips brushed over the worn cover as I picked it up, its weight both grounding and

suffocating at once.

Zayn. He was the only one who could help me. The only one who knew Latin well enough to make sense of it. I prayed he was in his dorm, that he hadn’t slipped off somewhere, because I didn’t have the patience to wait. Not today. Not with my parents coming to pick me up later, with lunch at two and promising questions I wasn’t sure I wanted answers to.

I hugged the book to my chest for a moment, exhaling slowly. Then straightened, squared my shoulders, and stepped out of the

room.

The hallways were quieter now, most students already gone into town or tucked into their routines. My footsteps echoed softly as I made my way down the wing, every step toward Zayn’s dorm laced with a mix of nerves and urgency. I wanted to get started before the clock ran out, before my parents arrived to pull me into their world of truths and lies.

With a final sigh, I tightened my grip on the book and turned toward Zayn’s wing, the thought of him and the translation pulling

me forward.

I arrived at his door, clutching the book a little too tightly against my chest. My knuckles tapped softly–once, twice–hesitant, as if

I could already sense this wasn’t going to be an ordinary moment.

For a few heartbeats, there was nothing. Silence pressed in, and I wondered if he wasn’t there after all. Then, faintly, I heard footsteps approaching. Slow, unhurried. My pulse picked up with each step until the latch finally clicked, and the door swung open.

And I froze.

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12:00 Thu, Jan 29 B BB

Chapter 59

90%

Zayn stood there, the doorway framing him, and for a second I forgot how to breathe. He wasn’t wearing anything–nothing except a

towel slung dangerously low around his hips..

My eyes betrayed me, flickering down before I could stop them. Broad shoulders, lean muscle, and the sharp lines of his chest and stomach. Every detail was carved like it had been meant to taunt. My grip on the book tightened until my knuckles whitened, because suddenly my fingers itched with the temptation to reach out to trace what my eyes shouldn’t have been lingering on.

Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I blinked hard, snapping my gaze back up to his face. But that only made it worse–because he was

looking right at me.

My throat went dry. Words hovered on the tip of my tongue, but nothing came out.

“What… what are you doing here?” Zayn’s voice cut through the heavy silence, low and rough, as if he couldn’t quite believe I was standing there. His brows pinched together, shock flickering across his face.