Chapter 167: Goodnight Shorty

The fire had died down to a soft amber glow, painting the room in shades of warmth and gold. Outside, the night pressed close against the windows, quiet and heavy with the hum of crickets and the distant murmur of the forest. Inside, everything was still, except for the stubborn man lounging across Sophia’s bed like he owned the place.

Sophia sat cross-legged near the edge, arms folded, watching Orion with narrowed eyes. He looked far too comfortable hands laced behind his head, bare chest half-covered by the thin blanket he’d claimed, one leg carelessly hanging off the bed as if he’d lived there all his life.

"You know," she began, her tone suspiciously calm, "you have a very nice house. Spacious. Warm. Probably filled with expensive things that are crying because their owner abandoned them."

Orion didn’t even open his eyes. "Mhm."

She blinked. "Mhm? That’s all you have to say?"

He hummed again, lazy and deep, his voice thick with amusement. "You talk too much when you’re trying to chase someone out."

Sophia gasped softly. "Trying? I’m doing more than trying. I’m succeeding. You’re leaving."

"No," he said simply.

She stared at him. "Excuse me?"

"I said no," he repeated, eyes still closed, lips curving into a faint smirk. "I’m staying right here."

The audacity.

Sophia leaned forward, glaring. "You can’t just...just stay here. It’s inappropriate."

One eye opened then, the molten gold of his gaze gleaming under the firelight. "Inappropriate?" he echoed, sounding genuinely amused. "Sophia, we’ve passed the inappropriate mark a long time ago."

"No, we passed it a few hours ago." She corrected him making him chuckle.

"True. But I’m still not going." He told her.

Then she exhaled, rubbing her temples. "You can’t just decide that on your own."

"I can," he said mildly. "And I did."

She groaned. "You’re impossible."

"Thank you," he replied without missing a beat.

Sophia grabbed a pillow and smacked him squarely in the chest.

He grunted, half-laughing. "Was that supposed to hurt?"

"Yes," she said, hitting him again.

He caught the pillow easily this time, tugging it from her grasp and tossing it behind him. "You’re adorable when you’re violent."

"Orion!"

He chuckled, low and warm, and she hated that her heart reacted every time he laughed like that.

"You’re not staying," she said again, more firmly this time. "I don’t need a guard dog."

"Good thing I’m not a dog," he said smoothly, sitting up now, his tone teasing but his eyes holding a flicker of something deeper.

"Wolf, then. Doesn’t change anything."

He leaned closer, his voice dropping low enough to make her pulse jump. "It changes everything."

Sophia’s breath hitched. He wasn’t even touching her, yet it felt like the space between them was charged like the air itself had leaned in to listen.

She broke eye contact first, turning away and pretending to adjust the blanket. "You’re ridiculous."

"Maybe," he said softly, "but I’m also right."

Her shoulders tensed slightly. "About what?"

"That you want me to stay."

Sophia froze.

She had to admit that she liked him here. She wanted him to stay too.

"You do realize we decided to keep this a secret right? What if people see you leaving my home in the morning?" She asked him.

"They wouldn’t. I’m discreet." He told her.

Sophia rolled her eyes. "But what if someone sees you? Like the guards or..."

"No one will see me." He assured her.

"No one will see me." Sophia repeated mocking him.

Her head snapped toward him. "You’re infuriating, you know that?"

"I’ve been told," he murmured, utterly unbothered. "Now can we go to sleep, shorty? I’m tired especially after running around the pack looking for you."

Sophia glared at him, but there was no heat behind it. "Fine. You can stay." She told him.

Orion gave her another half lidded look. "I wasn’t going anywhere either way." He informed her.

Sophia muttered something under her breath about overgrown wolves with big egos, but the fight had already drained from her voice. She pulled the blanket tighter around herself and tried to ignore the way her heart was beating entirely too fast for someone supposedly annoyed.

Orion shifted beside her, his weight dipping the mattress slightly. For a moment, they laid there in silence, him quietly watching the firelight dance across her face, her pretending not to notice that he was watching at all.

Finally, she broke the quiet. "You can’t just make a habit of this, you know. Sleeping here."

He shrugged. "Wasn’t planning to."

"Good," she said quickly.

"The bed is too small so we’ll make sure you just spend the nights at my place instead." He replied smoothly.

Sophia was caught unaware by his words and she laughed. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

"You wish I’ll spend the nights at your place." She told him.

"Wouldn’t you?" He asked her.

She was quiet as if pondering on the answer like she didn’t already know. Orion watched her with a smile.

"Are you thinking about lying to me?" He asked her.

She laughed. "Maybe."

"So...it’s decided then, you’ll be spending future nights at my home." He told her

"Unless you annoy me."

"We annoy each other everyday but it doesn’t stop you from liking me either way." He told her.

Sophia shoved him lightly, but her hand lingered against his arm, the warmth of his skin seeping into her fingers.

"Is this how you plan to handle this relationship? With violence?" He asked her.

"That was hardly violent." She told him.

"So you think." He told her.

In one swift move, Orion wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer to him.

"Are you trying to suffocate me you oaf?" She asked him.

"Maybe I’ll try that another time we have sex. I hear it can enhance the experience." He told her.

"What the hell?" She asked with a laugh.

"As much as I love hearing you laugh, I just want to go to bed and spend the first night with my mate." He told her softly.

"Going all soft on me?" She asked him with a smile.

"Maybe the other parts but never my cock."

"Who’d have thought you had a dirty mouth?" She asked him.

"And here I thought you’d cover your ears but it seems like you are one dirty woman yourself, shorty."

She chuckled at that. His arm slid around her waist, pulling her to him as he bent slightly, his lips brushing the top of her head in a fleeting kiss that felt like both a promise and a question.

The rhythm of his heartbeat was steady beneath her ear, slow and sure. She could feel the faint hum of the bond there too, warm and pulsing in sync with her own.

Sophia closed her eyes.

His scent surrounded her completly. It was grounding and maddening all at once. The world seemed to fade into it until nothing else mattered but the steady thrum of his chest beneath her cheek and the quiet exhale of his breath against her hair.

"Orion," she murmured drowsily.

"Mhm?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight shorty."