The Human Among Wolves Chapter 105

Aurora

The room felt too small for this much testosterone.

Kael and Zayn were still staring each other down, both refusing to break eye contact, both looking like they’d happily tear out the other’s throat if I blinked too long.

Before either could speak—

“That’s enough,” Selene snapped, flicking her gaze between them. “We are not doing a macho growl-off in here.”

Mira raised a brow from where she sat on her desk chair, swinging a leg casually. “Yeah, unless one of you plans to vacuum after you wreck the place, cut the Alpha energy.”

Kael didn’t look amused.

Zayn looked like he’d be happy to vacuum… with Kael’s face.

Lira hovered near me, one hand lightly gripping my elbow like she was ready to pull me behind her at any second—brave, but definitely terrified.

She swallowed and stepped forward. “Aurora isn’t something either of you gets to fight over. So move back. Both of you.”

Shockingly, they actually listened.

Because five very pissed-off girls are scarier than two Lycans.

Selene flicked her attention back to me, expression softening instantly. “We need to talk. Us. Girls.”

Then she turned a sharp look back at the boys.

“You two? Out.”

Kael blinked like she had just spoken a foreign language.

Zayn didn’t blink at all—just looked personally offended by the idea.

Kael jabbed a thumb toward Zayn. “He can go first.”

Zayn scoffed. “Not a chance.”

Kael rolled his eyes. “She called me.”

Zayn’s nostrils flared. “And she opened the door for me.”

“That was before she remembered you’re a giant asshole,” Kael shot back.

Ouch.

Zayn’s voice dropped low, lethal calm. “I’m the one who got here first. Unlike you.”

Kael’s jaw clenched. “I’m someone she actually trusts. Can’t say the same for you after what you pulled.”

Zayn stepped even closer. “You don’t know a damn thing about what I do for her.”

Kael let out a quiet scoff. “What? Bleed on walls and slam doors? Excellent protection strategy.”

“Better than abandoning her after your photo got leaked,” Zayn hissed back.

Kael bristled. “You have no idea what’s going on, so maybe shut the fuck up before—”

“Before what?” Zayn challenged. “You’ll run crying to Daddy King? How’s that working out for you?”

“Ohh, bold,” Kael sneered, tilting his head. “So tell me, Zayn—what exactly have you done for her? Besides making her cry?”

A muscle in Zayn’s jaw ticked—the only betrayal of emotion he’d allow.

“At least I didn’t use her to piss off my family,” Zayn fired back. “She deserves better than being some rebellion statement you parade around.”

Kael laughed once—sharp and disbelieving.

“That’s cute. You suddenly care?”

Zayn stepped so close, their noses almost brushed.

“I never stopped caring.”

My breath hitched—and of course Kael noticed.

His fist clenched.

“Yeah?” Kael’s voice dropped dangerously. “Funny way of showing it.”

Zayn’s eyes flickered—guilt, anger, all of it swirling together like a storm.

“Shut up,” he muttered, but it had no bite.

“Oh, I hit a nerve?” Kael pushed, leaning in. “Should’ve thought about that before you called her a pathe—”

“ENOUGH!”

Selene shoved herself between them.

Both of them froze—mostly out of shock, partly because Selene looked like she might actually murder them.

“We are not doing this in here,” she snapped.

“This is a girl space. Clean. Safe. Testosterone-free.”

Mira pointed between them. “Out. Now. Or I start throwing shoes.”

Kael and Zayn looked like they wanted to argue but Riven—quiet, terrifying Riven—took one step forward, eyebrow raised.

Mira opened the door with her foot. “Hall. Now. Shoo.”

Kael pointed at the ground like he was drawing a battle line.

“I’m not going far.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake—OUT,” Selene growled.

And somehow—somehow—they obeyed.

The door slammed shut behind them. Instant silence.

Well… almost silence.

Because on the other side—

“I’m standing here.”

“Well move.”

“Make me.”

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”

“Try me.”

“You move like a brick with legs.”

“And you whine like a toddler.”

“At least toddlers have emotional intelligence.”

“What the fuck does that even mean—”

Selene groaned into her hands. “I swear, I deserve financial compensation for this.”

I sank onto my bed, heart still racing.

“They’re going to rip each other apart out there,” Mira muttered.

Riven glanced toward the door. “Not before we figure out who stays.”

I blinked. “Who what?”

Selene sat beside me, expression softening. “One of them has to stay with you tonight. Just in case.”

Lira nodded. “That message wasn’t a joke.”

Mira exhaled. “So… who do you want inside?”

The question hit harder than it should have.

Outside the door, Kael and Zayn were still snarling insults like brothers who hated each other.

My pulse thumped in my ears.

Selene placed a hand gently on my knee.

“Who do you trust to protect you?”

My mouth was dry. My heart was loud.

Selene waited.

Mira squeezed my fingers again.

And finally—somehow—I managed to whisper:

“Both.”

Selene raised a brow like she’d expected drama and got a whole damn saga.

Riven just nodded, like that was the only logical answer.

Mira let out a tiny 'yesss' under her breath.

Lira looked relieved that I hadn’t picked wrong.

Selene cleared her throat, turned, and swung the door open.

“Alright,” she announced, “you can both come in. Don’t make me regret this.”

Kael walked in first, jaw set tight. Zayn followed, eyes immediately scanning the room.

They stayed on opposite sides of the room… still glaring.

The moment they realized I had chosen them both to stay, their expressions shifted in perfect, irritated symmetry.

Kael’s gaze cut to mine, sharp with disbelief.

“So you couldn’t pick,” he said, tone flat but edged.

Zayn let out a soft scoff, arms crossing over his chest. “Not surprised,” he muttered.

I drew a breath, steadying myself. “I didn’t choose because I need both of you,” I said. “Not for your egos. For what’s happening.”

They didn’t look any happier with that explanation. Kael’s jaw tightened. Zayn’s brows lowered. If anything, they looked even more annoyed—just for different reasons.

Selene stepped more fully into the room, reclaiming the space with a kind of effortless authority only she could manage. “Okay. Testosterone time is over,” she announced. “Aurora has something she needs to say.”

I swallowed the nerves climbing up my throat. My fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket as I looked from one face to the next.

“I want to go back to the cabin,” I said. “Seraphina’s cabin. Tomorrow.”

A cold, solid silence settled immediately.

Then came the explosion.

Kael first, voice firm as steel. “No. Absolutely not.”

Zayn almost over him, jaw set like stone. “That’s out of the question.”

Selene stared like I’d lost my entire mind.

Mira threw her hands up. “Why are we volunteering for murder?”

Riven mumbled something about bad omens and horror movie rules.

Lira just shook her head, eyes wide.

I held up a hand, trying to calm the storm before it became a hurricane.

“I know what you’re all thinking. But she was the only one who told me anything real about who I am. If there’s even a chance she’s alive… if the cabin still has clues… I can’t just sit here pretending none of this is happening.”

Kael’s anger didn’t fade—it shifted. “Aurora, that place is dangerous,” he said quietly, voice tight. “The kind of dangerous you don’t walk away from twice.”

Zayn didn’t argue that. His silence said enough—fear tucked behind the hard edges.

“I’m going regardless,” I said, softer but no less certain. “I have to.”