Chapter 183: Profit and Steel

The walk to the office was longer than it should have been. Snowflakes clung to Orion’s hair and shoulders as he and Garrett made their way across the compound.

The murmur of training still lingered faintly behind them, though most of the trainees had already dispersed to rest their aching muscles.

Garrett kept fidgeting beside him, wringing his hands like a man who had walked himself into a storm he didn’t mean to summon. Orion could sense the nerves rolling off him like heat. He said nothing at first but with the way Garrett was fidgettimg, he could only hold on for so long.

"Is something wrong?" He asked Garrett.

Garrett blinked, his words tumbling over each other. "I...I wouldn’t really say it’s something wrong but it’s um...a situation?"

Orion was about to ask him what he meant when he noticed two figures standing in front of the oak door leading to the office.

"That’s the situation?" Orion asked him.

Garrett nodded. "Yes sir."

Orion approaches the two figures who looked moments away from killing each other.

Mary and Tobias. He wasn’t even surprised. They always argued especially when it came to money. Apart from herbs, the Nightshade pack also made money from their weapons most crafted by Mary.

They stood opposite each other, both glaring at each other and Orion was sure if he just blew a whistle then they’d start fighting.

He ignored them as he approached and instead opened the door to the office and they followed suit, stepping inside, still simmering.

Mary had streaks of soot smudged against her cheeks and forearms, the mark of hours spent near the forge. Her sleeves were rolled up, showing the thin scars she carried.

Tobias, on the other hand, looked as though he had been dragged straight from a merchant’s parlor—his dark vest crisp, his silver rings glinting even in the dull light, his expression one of a man calculating every possible loss.

The familiar scent of ink, parchment, and cold stone greeted Orion immediately he walked in.

He took a sit and immediately, Tobias and Mary got to it.

"Finally," Tobias said.

"Took you a while to arrive." Mary told him.

"What’s the issue?" Orion asked them and by asking, he released the dam.

"She stole Skylur fangs from my supply for her damn experiments!" Tobias spoke out.

Mary whipped her head toward him, eyes flashing. "I didn’t steal anything, Tobias. I took what I needed to craft weapons. Weapons that he—" she jabbed a finger toward Orion "—asked me to make."

Orion leaned back slowly, his fingers steepling in front of him."This will be interesting." He muttered lowly.

Tobias who didn’t hear him, scoffed at Mary. "Weapons? You took three sets of Skylur fangs. Do you have any idea how valuable those are? Theresa client who asked for those and I was going to take it to them."

"And like I said, I took them to craft weapons. I am going to use them for an experiment. How are you not getting that through your thick skull?" Mary retorted.

"The fangs are strong, durable, and they carry resistance. I was thinking instead of just selling them, why not use it to craft something?" She asked

"You speak like you’ve always wanted to try using them as experiments." Tobias said as he narrowed his eyes.

"Yes. And I just got the best request to try them with." Mary told him.

Orion crossed his arms and glared at her "There are plenty of materials lying around, materials you’ve used to create other weapons why don’t you use them?"

"That’s because I want to try using the fangs. I’ve always been interested in using them after all."

"So you stole because you wanted to experiment is that it?" Tobias asked her.

"I collected. I thought those things belonged to the pack and not just you."

"They belong to a client and you could have just asked instead if just taking it." Tobias told her.

"Would you have given me?" Mary asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"No."

"Exactly."

Garrett stares at Orion as if begging him to do something but Orion just watched them. It seemed he was just going to be a referee after all, stepping in only when it was necessary.

"And besides," Mary added. "We have piles of Skylur remains and I figured you couldn’t possibly sell all of it. I figured you wouldn’t miss a few."

"Couldn’t possibly sell? I always sell out especially when it comes to rare materials like the Skylur remains and besides more materials means more money for the pack." Tobias told her.

Mary met his gaze head-on. "And if I can get this experiment right, Tobias, there’ll be even more money for the pack. Imagine a weapon crafted from Skylur fangs, how rare will that be and how much money do you think that will bring?"

That made him pause. He blinked, suspicion giving way to curiosity. "More money, you say."

Orion watched Tobias’s brain start to turn behind his eyes. The man’s arms slowly lowered, the crease between his brows softening just a little. "How much more money are we talking about?"

Mary’s lips curved into a knowing smile. "A lot. If I can get it right then we could be talking millions."

Tobias smiled. "There is no if. You must get it right."

"Don’t you trust me?" Mary asked him.

"When it comes to things like this..." Tobias paused then smiled widely. "...I do."

Orion watched as the both of them started calculating how much they could get from selling something as rare as that.

He shook his head while Garrett stared with mouth agape.

Orion wasn’t surprised. Mary and Tobias argued a lot but their love for money always brought them back together. And sometimes, Tobias even gave her suggestions on how to make her weapons better. Well, he gave every craftsman the suggestion.

Mary then turned. "Well, I should get back to my forge now." She said and turned to love but Orion spoke up. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"Wait, both of you."