The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68

Aurora

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I don’t even remember how it happened.

One second, I was standing outside his door, knuckles still pressed to the wood from knocking, and the next… I was in his arms.

The door had opened almost immediately, like he’d been standing right there on the other side, waiting for me. His expression had

been unreadable for half a second–surprise, maybe, or worry–before everything inside me cracked open.

I didn’t mean to cry. I never cry in front of people. I hate feeling weak, hate letting anyone see me like that.

But the moment I saw him, something in me just broke.

The tears started sliding down my face, faster than I could stop them, and before I knew it, Zayn was reaching for me, pulling me

inside and shutting the door behind me.

And then I was in his arms.

It felt too easy, too natural–the way his arms wrapped around me, solid and warm, the way I buried my face in his chest like I’d been waiting all day to do just that. His shirt smelled like soap and clean cotton, and I didn’t even notice until much later that it wasn’t the hoodie he’d worn earlier, but a soft t–shirt that clung to him just enough to remind me of what was underneath.

Somehow, I ended up on his bed too–big, wide, way too comfortable with his shirt against my cheek and his steady heartbeat

under my ear.

I don’t even know when I stopped crying, or when my hands fisted in the fabric of his shirt, holding on like he was the only thing

keeping me grounded.

All I knew was that, for the first time since lunch with my parents, I didn’t feel like I was drowning,

It was the sunlight that woke me.

Soft, golden beams were spilling through the gap in the curtains, warming my face. For a moment, I just lay there, not moving,

caught in that hazy space between sleep and waking.

Then my eyes blinked open, heavy and slow, and the first thought that slammed into my head was, Where the fuck am 17

This wasn’t my room.

The ceiling was higher, the walls darker, the faint smell of soap and cedarwood hanging in the air–so very not the lavender–scented

chaos of my own dorm.

I pushed myself up on one elbow, the sheets cool against my skin, and the events of last night came rushing back like a tidal wave.

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12:01 Thu, Jan 29 GGG.

Chapter 68

Lunch with my parents.

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The conversation thad cracked something open in me.

The storm in my chest that refused to calm.

The reckless decision to leave my dorm, to go to Zayn’s.

And then–Zayn himself. His arms, solid and warm. His quiet presence and the way he hadn’t asked questions, just let me fall apart

against him.

God.

I sat up fully, brushing my hair back from my face, taking in the room around me.

His desk was cluttered with papers and a few books stacked haphazardly, like he’d been working late, but everything else was surprisingly neat. His jacket was thrown over the back of a chair, his boots lined neatly by the door.

And his bed–the bed I was still in–was way too comfortable. The kind of bed you didn’t want to get out of, even when you knew

you should.

But Zayn wasn’t here.

The space beside me was empty, the sheets already cold.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed slowly, feeling the faintest sting of embarrassment creep up my neck. I had spent the night in Zayn’s bed. I had cried myself to sleep in his arms And he had–what? Just let me?

I let out a long, shaky sigh and ran a hand through my hair, trying to decide if I should get up, straighten the bed, and pretend like

I hadn’t just spent the night in Zayn’s room, like some emotional hurricane had dumped me here.

But I didn’t even get the chance to move.

The sound of a door opening made me freeze, and a second later, Zayn stepped out of the bathroom, steam curling in the air behind

him.

For half a heartbeat, I just stared.

His hair was damp, dark strands falling across his forehead, and a single towel was wrapped low around his waist–low enough that I had to drag my eyes back up before they got me into trouble.

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