The Human Among Wolves Chapter 13

Aurora

He was just there—standing in front of me like he’d been waiting.

I froze, heart climbing into my throat. He didn’t say anything. Just looked at me with those sharp, unreadable eyes. Not angry. Not soft. Just… watching.

The silence stretched, heavy and strange, until I couldn’t take it anymore.

"What?" I asked, my voice low, a little sharper than I meant. “You’re just going to stare at me?”

Zayn didn’t flinch. His expression didn’t change. But something in his eyes flickered—barely there. A twitch at the corner of his mouth, like he was thinking through something carefully.

“You’re leaving,” he said finally. Not a question. A fact.

I blinked at him. “Were you listening?”

He didn’t answer.

Of course he was.

I looked away, jaw tight. “I wasn’t planning to stay forever, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not worried,” he said, but the words didn’t land the way they should have. Not cold. Not careless. Just… quiet.

I huffed a bitter laugh, wiping my sleeve across my cheek before the tears could fall. “Well, good. Then you don’t have to pretend anymore.”

Still, he didn’t move. He didn’t argue. He just kept looking at me like I was some puzzle he couldn’t solve.

I took a step to move past him, but his voice stopped me again.

“Why did you come here?”

I turned back. “What?”

He shifted, finally, like the question had cost him something. “Moonbound isn’t exactly on the top of any human college list. You must’ve known something was off.”

“I didn’t,” I said, the frustration creeping back into my voice. “I really didn’t. My parents handled everything. I thought it was just… some weird elite boarding school. I didn’t

know this place was full of people who could break bones without blinking.”

Zayn’s jaw flexed. “And now?”

let out a breath, slow and tired. “Now I get it. This place isn’t meant for people like me. And I’m not trying to get myself killed just to prove I can survive here.”

His eyes flicked to mine, something unreadable passing through them.

I narrowed my gaze. “How long have you known?”

He didn’t answer right away.

“That I’m human,” I added. “When did you figure it out?”

Zayn glanced away, just for a second, and I saw the answer before he said a word.

“Since the first day,” he muttered.

I blinked. “The first day?”

"The second you walked into the courtyard," he said, quieter now, "you acted like you didn’t even notice—the wards, the way the air changed. Anyone like us would’ve picked up on it right away.”

“And you didn’t say anything?” My voice cracked with disbelief. “You knew I didn’t belong here, and you just… kept it to yourself?”

His gaze snapped back to mine. “What was I supposed to do? Drag you out by the arm? Announce it in front of the whole damn academy?”

“You could’ve warned me.”

“You wouldn’t have listened.”

I froze. “You don’t know that.”

He took a step closer. “I know you walked into a place you didn’t understand and didn’t run when you should have. I know you stood your ground in front of Malric when most people would’ve backed down. I know—" He stopped himself, jaw tightening again. “I know enough.”

My throat felt tight, like something was stuck there, unsaid.

“Why didn’t you turn me in?” I asked. “You could’ve. Any of you could’ve.”

“I thought you’d be gone by now.”

Ouch.

I nodded slowly, like the words didn’t sting. “Right. Well. You’ll get your wish.”

Zayn stepped into my path, not touching me, just enough to stop me. “That’s not what I meant.”

I looked up at him. “Then what did you mean?”

He hesitated again. That same flicker crossed his face—tension, conflict, something he wasn’t saying.

But then he said it anyway. Quietly. Almost reluctantly.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

The words hung between us like fog—thick, heavy, and impossible to ignore.

I blinked. “What?”

Zayn didn’t repeat himself. He just stood there, jaw tight, like he already regretted saying it.

My heart kicked hard in my chest. “You just said you thought I’d be gone by now.”

“I did.” His voice was low, steady. “But that was before.”

“Before what?”

Zayn looked at me then—really looked. “Before I realized you weren’t just some clueless human who wandered in here. Before you stood your ground with Malric. Before you looked me in the eye and didn’t flinch.”

I swallowed, caught off guard by the heat rising in my face. “So what, now I’m a charity case?”

He frowned. “No. You’re not weak, Aurora. That’s the problem.”

I folded my arms across my chest, trying to keep myself from shaking. Whether it was nerves, anger, or something else entirely, I didn’t know. “What are you even saying, Zayn? That I

should stay? Risk getting ripped apart by someone less ‘patient’ than the professor?”

“I’m saying…” He hesitated, struggling to find the words. “You came into a place that should’ve swallowed you whole, and somehow, it didn’t. You’re still standing. That means

something.”

I let out a shaky breath, my throat tight. “It doesn’t change the fact that I don’t belong here.”

Zayn stepped closer, his voice quieter now, more deliberate. “Maybe. But you’re already part of it. Whether you meant to be or not.”

That hit harder than I wanted it to.

He went on, softer still, like he was walking a line he wasn’t sure he should cross. “You’ve been having dreams?”

I stiffened. “How do you—?”

“I’ve seen the way you look. Like you’re somewhere else.” He paused. “They’re not just dreams. Not here. Not for someone like you.”

Something cold unfurled in my chest. “What does that mean?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But I think this place wants you here. And if that’s true, then maybe you’re not as human as you think.”

My breath caught.

I stared at him, unsure if I wanted to laugh, cry, or scream.

Because if he was right…everything I thought I knew about myself could be wrong.

I stared at him, the words echoing in my mind like they’d come from somewhere far away.

*'Maybe you’re not as human as you think.'*

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, voice tight.

Zayn didn’t flinch. “It means you need to stop assuming you know everything about yourself.”

I took a step back, heart thudding. “No. No, you don’t get to stand there and say cryptic stuff like that and then act like it’s not completely insane.”

“I’m not trying to confuse you—”

“Oh, you’re doing a great job without trying,” I snapped, the panic building faster than I could contain it. “You think I want any of this? The weird dreams? The stares? Constantly feeling like I’m walking into a room that already decided I don’t belong?”

His mouth tightened. “You’re not the only one the academy watches.”

Something in the way he said it made my blood chill.

But before he could say anything else, a sharp knock echoed down the corridor.

We both turned.

Down the hall, just barely visible through the shadows, stood a tall figure dressed in deep crimson robes—the kind no student wore. The kind that meant power. Authority. Danger.

The Head Warden.

Zayn immediately moved to stand in front of me, just slightly, like it was instinct.

The warden’s voice carried, smooth and cold. “Miss Wells. A word.”