The Human Among Wolves (Aurora) novel Chapter 88

Chapter 88

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She swung the gate open with a casual ease that made my stomach ip–like the rules that kept us safe during the day didn’t matter

here.

Beyond the gate, the woods waited.

They looked… different than they did in daylight. The trees stood tall and dark, their branches tangled together like skeletal hands, blocking out most of the moonlight. The ground was uneven, littered with leaves that crunched softly under our boots.

“Keep up,” Riven said, glancing over her shoulder at me. Her icy hair caught what little moonlight there was, gleaming faintly like

frost.

I hurried after them, my pulse thundering in my ears.

The deeper we went, the louder the drums became, until I could feel them in my bones, vibrating with each beat. Somewhere in the

distance, voices rose–shouting, laughing, singing.

And then came the howls.

Low at first, almost mournful, then higher, wilder, until they echoed through the forest all around us.

1 froze.

Selene touched my shoulder gently. “It’s okay,” she said, her voice warm. “It’s just the pack. They always run before the bonfire

starts.”

Her words were meant to reassure me, but they sent another shiver down my spine.

We kept walking, the path curving deeper into the trees until the first faint glow of firelight flickered through the branches ahead.

The smell of smoke drifted toward us on the wind–woodsmoke, sweet and sharp, mingled with something else. Something wilder,

more primal.

When we finally stepped into the clearing, I had to stop and take it all in.

A massive bonfire roared in the center, sparks shooting into the night sky. Dozens–maybe hundreds of people were already there, scattered around the fire in a rough circle. Some were dancing, their shadows leaping across the ground like living things. Others stood in small groups, talking, laughing, and drinking from silver flasks.

And then my eyes found him.

Zayn.

For a second, I forgot how to breathe.

He stood on the far side of the clearing, close enough to the bonfire that the flames lit him from behind, outlining him in flickering

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Chapter 88

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gold and shadow. He wasn’t wearing a mask like the others–nothing to soften the sharp lines of his face. Just Zayn, exactly as he

was, and somehow that made him stand out even more,

He was dressed in all black–a fitted shirt that stretched over his chest and dark pants tucked into worn boots. He looked dangerous

like this. Untamed.

And I hated that my heart still stuttered just looking at him.

Charlotte was next to him, of course.

Her mask was striking–a smooth crimson that caught the firelight and made her look like something out of a fairytale, beautiful and dangerous all at once. Her icy silver–blonde hair tumbled over her shoulders, catching glints of orange from the flames, and she

stood just a little too close to him, her arm brushing his.

1 froze, rooted to the spot.

My fingers curled against my palms as I tried to tear my eyes away. I couldn’t.

Because Zayn wasn’t laughing.

He wasn’t smiling, or teasing her, or doing any of the things I’d imagined he might be doing when I pictured this moment in my

head.

He was just… standing there, staring into the fire, his jaw tense, like something heavy was sitting on his shoulders.

And then his head turned.

And he saw me.

The air left my lungs in a rush.

Across the crackling fire, his dark eyes locked with mine, and for a moment the noise of the party faded away.

I felt the weight of that look like a touch, like a hand closing around my throat and holding me still.

I wanted to look away. I told myself to look away.

But I couldn’t.

My pulse thudded in my ears, my breath shallow, and I had the sudden, terrifying thought that maybe he could hear it.

The fire popped, sending sparks spiraling into the night sky, and that tiny sound was enough to break the moment.

Zayn blinked first.

He looked back at Charlotte, leaning down to say something that made her smirk, her red–painted lips curling in satisfaction. She touched his arm, and this time, he didn’t pull away.

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My chest constricted so tightly it almost hurt.

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I tore my gaze from them and looked anywhere else at the masks, the fire, the crowd–but the image was burned into my mind.

It didn’t matter that I had promised myself I wouldn’t care.

Seeing them standing together felt like being gutted, slow and deep

I swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in my throat as Selene’s hand touched my shoulder.

“You okay?” she asked softly, glancing toward where my gaze had been fixed.

I nodded, too quickly, and stepped forward into the crowd, pretending I hadn’t just had my heart ripped open all over again.

Comments

R Visitor

it’s an act to protect her.

7 days ago