The Human Among Wolves Chapter 62

Aurora

By the time we were all finally ready, the room looked like a whirlwind had passed through—makeup brushes scattered across the desk, glitter shimmering on the floor like tiny stars, and stray bits of ribbon and lace sticking to the carpet.

Mira fluffed her pink hair one last time, her wings fluttering behind her like they were alive, before spinning in a circle and grinning at us. “Okay,” she said, voice buzzing with excitement. “Let’s go before all the good drinks are gone.”

I blinked, glancing at the clock on my nightstand.

10:07 p.m.

The realization hit me like a splash of cold water. “Wait.” I frowned, looking from one girl to the next. “How exactly are we… leaving? The gates close at ten. Aren’t there like, wards or whatever that keep everyone inside?”

“Oh, there are,” Selene said casually, as though we were discussing the weather, while she adjusted the silver chain around her waist. “But curfew’s more of a suggestion if you know what you’re doing.”

I stared at her. “A suggestion?”

Lira, ever the calm voice of reason, offered me a small smile. “We’re not the only ones going tonight, Aurora. Half the school will be there. You don’t think an entire pack of wolves is going to skip the only night of the year they get to run under a full moon with bonfires and music, do you?”

My stomach flipped, both at the thought of wolves running free through the forest and at the idea of us sneaking out like we weren’t supposed to. “So what, we just… walk out the gates? The guards won’t notice?”

“They’ll notice,” Riven said with a shrug, pulling her cloak over her shoulders. The motion made her look taller, sharper somehow—almost dangerous. “They just won’t stop us.”

Something about the way she said it made a shiver crawl down my spine.

Selene caught my expression and laughed softly, looping her arm through mine. “Relax, newbie. It’s tradition. The professors pretend they don’t know, the guards look the other way, and everyone goes to the woods for one night. Nobody talks about it after.”

“That doesn’t sound suspicious at all,” I muttered, but I let her guide me toward the door.

The hallway outside was unnervingly quiet, the usual hum of the dorms completely gone. It was as if the entire building was holding its breath, waiting for us to step out.

Our footsteps echoed softly against the polished floors as we made our way to the side entrance, Mira humming under her breath, her wings twitching with every step.

When we finally reached the door that led to the courtyard, Riven placed her hand against the handle and glanced back at us.

“You ready?” she asked, her voice low but carrying.

No one answered out loud, but one by one, the girls nodded.

I hesitated, my pulse quickening. My body screamed that this was a bad idea—that nothing good ever happened in the woods after dark.

But then Selene squeezed my hand, grounding me.

“Trust us,” she said softly, her amber eyes glinting in the dim light.

I took a breath and nodded.

Riven pushed the door open, and cool night air rushed in immediately, curling around my legs and lifting the fine hairs on my arms.

Outside, the campus was completely still, bathed in silver moonlight.

And somewhere in the distance, faint but unmistakable, was the sound of drums.

The sound of the drums grew louder the moment we stepped outside, a steady, rhythmic pulse that seemed to sink into the ground and crawl up my spine.

The courtyard felt different at night—darker somehow, even with the moon overhead. The usual warm glow of the lamps lining the paths felt distant, pale, swallowed by the shadows between them.

“Stay close,” Lira murmured, her voice soft but carrying easily in the silence. Her golden hair shimmered in the moonlight, making her look almost unearthly as she led the way.

I followed, my steps quiet against the stone path, but no matter how soft I tried to walk, every sound seemed to echo. The air was cooler out here, sharp against my bare arms, and I found myself clutching my light jacket tighter around me.

The closer we got to the outer gates, the more my heart pounded—not just with nerves, but with something else. Anticipation, maybe. Or dread.

The gates loomed ahead, tall and black, and for a moment I half expected someone to step out from the shadows and stop us. But no one came.

Mira reached the gate first and glanced back at me, a mischievous grin playing on her lips. “First time sneaking out?”

“Not really,” I whispered back, thinking about Zayn and our visit to the 'library.'

She swung the gate open with a casual ease that made my stomach flip—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.

I 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 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.

I 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.

My chest constricted so tightly it almost hurt.

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.