The Human Among Wolves Chapter 44

Zayn

Zade didn’t answer right away, and the silence stretched, pressing against my skull.

I swallowed hard, my throat dry. “After a while I couldn’t hear anything anymore,” I continued, my tone sharper, brittle. “Not the screams. Not the crying. Not…” My voice cracked, and I cut myself off before it could shatter completely. I forced the words back out, quieter but colder than before. “What happened to them?”

On the other end, Zade let out a heavy breath, the sound scraping like gravel through the line. When he spoke, his voice was hoarse, reluctant. “I don’t know, Zayn. Not exactly. After she gave birth… they were kept in that basement for years. Nine, maybe ten. I lost count after a while.” His tone faltered, then hardened again, defensive. “And then one day, they were gone. I heard whispers that the woman was returned.”

“Returned?” The word felt poisonous on my tongue. “Not killed?”

He hesitated, then muttered, “No. Not killed. Returned to where she came from. She was a witch—powerful, dangerous. Father wouldn’t waste something like her if she could still serve a purpose. So… she was sent back to her people.”

I clenched my jaw until it ached. “And the child?” I asked slowly, my voice tight as wire. “What happened to the little girl?”

A pause. Longer this time.

Finally, Zade said, cautious, “Wait… how do you know it’s a girl?”

My heart hammered. I hadn’t meant to say that. But the image was burned into my mind—her voice, the woman calling her by the name Aurenya. I gritted my teeth, forcing steel into my voice. “Just answer the question.”

“The last I heard,” Zade said finally, his voice lower now, almost reluctant, “she was taken somewhere else. I think she’s still alive. But where she went, or who has her now… that, I don’t know.”

I let out a long breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding and closed my eyes, my fingers pressing hard against my temple. The room spun for a second, my chest tight. Alive. At least she might still be alive. Or... no don't go there. She isn't Aurora. She couldn't be.

When I found my voice again, it came out strained, quieter than before. “How did you even find out? Because it sure as hell wasn’t Father who told you. He never let anyone down there. No one—except his most trusted men.”

For a moment, I thought Zade wouldn’t answer. Then he said, almost matter-of-factly, “The same way you did, I suppose. The difference is, I was much older than you when I stumbled into the truth. Old enough to know exactly how dangerous it was. And I bribed someone to let me through.”

I frowned, confusion twisting in my gut. “Bribed who?”

There was a beat of silence before he said the name, steady and sure: “Corelius.”

My eyes widened, my stomach dropping. Corelius—Father’s right hand, his shadow, the man who had followed him since before I was born. He wasn’t someone who could be swayed. He wasn’t someone who bent for anything—or anyone.

“How the hell did you manage that?” I demanded, my voice rising despite the exhaustion weighing me down.

“I have my ways,” Zade replied, dismissive, like it wasn’t worth explaining.

I rolled my eyes, even though he couldn’t see it, bitterness curling in my chest. “Of course you do. Always so cryptic. Always with your damn secrets.”

He didn’t respond, and for a moment, the silence between us stretched again, heavy and tense.

Finally, I asked, quieter this time, almost against my better judgment. “Can you… can you find out what happened to her? To the girl?”

Zade hesitated, and for a split second, I almost believed he might say yes. Then his voice came, flat and sharp: “Probably not.”

I groaned inwardly, dragging a hand down my face. Of course. That was his answer to everything.

“Can you at least—” I started, my voice tight, desperate for just a little hope, when a sudden, sharp knock echoed through the room.

Perfect. Fucking perfect timing.

I froze, my hand gripping the phone like it might melt in my palm. My eyes darted to the clock. Almost ten a.m. I’d spent hours on the phone with Zade, longer than I’d intended, longer than I could afford to, and now—now someone had the audacity to interrupt.

“I have to go,” I muttered, barely hearing my own voice. Before Zade could respond, I slammed the call-end button and tossed the phone onto the bed. It bounced softly against the rumpled sheets, forgotten for the moment.

I strode toward the door, every step heavy, every muscle tense. Whoever it was better have a damn good reason for showing up unannounced. My patience was stretched thin, and my anger still simmered from the conversation.

I swung the door open, ready to unleash a string of curses at the idiot on the other side…

And froze.

Long, chestnut-brown hair fell around her shoulders, framing a face I hadn’t expected to see. Her big, bright blue eyes widened just as much as mine did, and for a moment, the world shrank down to just that.

Aurora.

For a heartbeat, I forgot everything else—forgot the conversation with Zade, the horrors I’d learned, even the heat of my own anger. My gaze shifted downward, and my stomach sank. I was… not properly dressed. Not even close. A towel was wrapped loosely around my waist from my morning shower, the only thing keeping my dignity intact.

The sight of her there, completely unexpected, made my pulse spike, my cheeks heat up, and my words die somewhere in my throat.

“What… what are you doing here?” I finally managed, my voice tight and uneven, though the anger I had carried for hours was replaced by something far more immediate: shock—and a rush of something I couldn’t quite name.

Aurora’s eyes flicked past me, her expression unreadable, and my chest tightened. This was… bad. Really bad.

“What… what are you doing here?” I asked again, my voice tighter now, my chest hammering.

Aurora’s eyes flicked up at me, her expression calm but curious, and I felt my stomach twist. I couldn’t think straight. My mind raced.

I took a step back instinctively, trying to put some distance between us, and in doing so, I misjudged the movement. The towel, already loosely wrapped, slipped from my waist with a soft whoosh and fell to the floor.

For a heartbeat, time froze. My heart nearly stopped. I scrambled forward, grabbing the towel desperately, pressing it against myself like it could magically restore my dignity. My face burned hotter than I thought possible.

Aurora blinked. And blinked again. Then, for the briefest moment, her lips twitched as if she were trying not to smile—but she didn’t say anything. She didn’t move either. She just stood there, watching me flail silently, that calm, piercing look in her blue eyes unwavering.

“I—I didn’t… I wasn’t expecting…” My words faltered. My tongue refused to form a coherent sentence. My fingers clutched the towel as if it were a lifeline.

“I… I just took a shower,” I finally managed to stammer, the sound pitiful even to my own ears. “And… you showed up…”

Aurora tilted her head slightly, her gaze curious but still unreadable. She didn’t move, didn’t react, giving me far too much time to realize just how exposed and ridiculous I looked—and how completely screwed I was.

My chest heaved, my face flamed, and I gritted my teeth. *Okay, think, Zayn. Think fast.* I tightened my grip on the towel, wrapping it around my waist as securely as I could, praying she wouldn’t comment on anything—anything at all.

“Are you… here for something?” I finally asked, trying to force my voice back to something resembling calm.