The Human Among Wolves Chapter 88

Aurora

Seraphina told me everything I needed to know—every detail, every direction, the exact place where my mother’s coven was hidden. When she finally stopped speaking, the silence that followed was almost deafening.

We didn’t linger. Neither of us said much as we left. The moment the cabin door creaked open, a rush of cold air hit me so sharply it made me shiver. It was colder than before—biting and raw, the kind of cold that seeped through fabric and settled into bone.

Outside, the world was dark and still, save for the faint whisper of wind moving through the trees. I pulled my jacket tighter around myself, trying to hold onto what little warmth I had left. The cabin behind us was already fading into the shadows, the light from the fire inside flickering dimly through the cracks in the wood before it vanished altogether.

I reached for my phone, my fingers trembling slightly, and lit up the screen. 3:24 a.m.

My heart skipped. “Did we really… stay that long?” I murmured, mostly to myself. It didn’t feel like hours had passed—but time didn’t seem to follow normal rules inside that cabin.

Kael didn’t answer. He just adjusted the strap of his backpack and started walking. I followed, matching his pace as the dirt crunched quietly under our feet. The deeper we went into the woods, the less real everything felt—the mist curling between the trees, the faint hum of magic that still lingered in the air, the cold breath of night brushing against my skin.

Without thinking, I reached out and caught Kael’s hand. He didn’t pull away, and I didn’t let go. Not even for a second.

Maybe it was fear, maybe exhaustion—but the thought of losing sight of him in that darkness made my chest tighten.

So I held on, my fingers wrapped around his as we walked toward the faint silhouette of his car waiting at the edge of the woods.

After what felt like an eternity—though in reality, it was probably only 15 minutes—we finally emerged from the suffocating darkness of the woods. The trees thinned out, their twisted branches giving way to the faint glimmer of moonlight that reflected off the asphalt ahead. Across the road, Kael’s car waited, a small beacon of normalcy after the strange, suffocating tension of Seraphina’s cabin.

We crossed the road carefully, my boots crunching against the gravel, every sound exaggerated in the still night. My chest still heaved from the cold and the nerves that hadn’t quite left me, and I found myself clutching Kael’s hand a moment longer before finally letting go as we reached the car.

Kael unlocked the door with a quick click, and I practically rushed inside, sliding across the seat as if I could somehow escape the lingering chill. He was right behind me, and I barely noticed him settling into the driver’s seat until I whispered, almost apologetically, “Heating… please.”

He turned the key, the engine rumbling to life, and immediately reached for the dial, twisting it so warm air began flooding the cabin. I leaned back against the seat, pressing my arms against myself to trap the heat, and finally allowed my shoulders to sag. The warmth seeped slowly into my frozen fingers and numb toes, a small comfort after the cold bite of the woods.

Kael glanced at me briefly, his expression unreadable in the dim glow of the dashboard lights, then focused back on the road. The tires crunched against the gravel as he turned the car around, the headlights cutting through the dark as we began the drive back. I exhaled deeply, the tension in my body unwinding just a little as I let myself sink into the seat, letting the warmth wash over me and the hum of the engine lull the frantic thoughts that had been chasing me since we left the cabin.

“Are you okay?” Kael asked after a few minutes of silence, his voice calm, almost patient. I stole a glance at him, trying to measure the exhaustion and relief written across his face. It was strange, seeing him like this—steady, reassuring, as if he had been expecting me to unravel any moment now.

“I… thank you,” I said, my voice low, almost hesitant, as if admitting it aloud made it real. “For everything. Really. Without you… I wouldn’t have found out who my real parents are.” The words tumbled out, carrying all the weight of the night, of secrets revealed and truths I had spent so long chasing.

Kael’s lips twitched into a smirk, that same infuriating, knowing look he always had. “Anytime, Princess,” he said casually, as if saving someone from the confusion of their own past was just another mundane favor.

I glanced down at my phone, heart sinking as I realized the time. “Oh… fuck…” I muttered under my breath. The academy gates would be locked now. After ten. I hadn’t thought this far ahead at all. Panic prickled along my spine. “How… how am I going to get back in?”

Kael tilted his head at me, an eyebrow raised, a small grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You always can crash at my place… you know.”

I blinked at him, momentarily stunned. “What?” I asked, voice caught somewhere between disbelief and confusion.

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “I live in the city. You’re welcome to stay there tonight. No risk of getting caught sneaking back into the academy.”

I bit my lip, chewing on the idea. My mind raced. If I went back now, there was no way I wouldn’t be caught. But Kael… Kael offered a safe option.

I swallowed hard, my pulse still thudding from the night’s events. “Okay,” I said, perhaps a little too quickly, my voice rushing out before I had fully processed it.

He smirked, that same infuriating, knowing smirk, and I felt my cheeks heat up. “Good,” he said simply, and the way he said it made the decision feel inevitable, like there wasn’t really any other choice.

I leaned back against the seat, trying to calm the rapid beating of my heart, my fingers fidgeting with the edge of my jacket.