Chapter 211: Simple Enough

Sophia rolled her eyes. They did not look good together at all. It didn’t matter that Holly was beautiful, confident, and from the pack. She shook her head slightly.

Orion and Holly did not look good together.

She wasn’t going to let insecurities get to her.

Her gaze flicked back to the ring. Holly twisted sharply, pushing forward with her full strength. Orion’s boots dug slightly into the dirt—but still not beyond the line. The circle held.

Sophia felt her pulse quicken as she watched. Holly’s strikes weren’t wild; they were deliberate, aimed with surgical precision. Each movement tested a different angle, a different opening. She wasn’t fighting recklessly—she was studying him the same way he had taught them to study.

But Orion was still a wall.

Each of his movements carried weightless authority. His blades moved in tight, minimal arcs that defied the sheer force of Holly’s swings. He disarmed her twice, and each time, he let her recover before she could hit the ground.

Dust rose around their feet, glowing in the morning light like gold mist. The sound of steel clashing echoed through the air, sharp and rhythmic, like a heartbeat.

Then Holly feinted right, switching grips mid-motion, and brought her sword upward in a diagonal slash. Orion blocked, turned, and in one smooth motion hooked her wrist, locking her arm against his. His dagger’s point stopped a breath away from her throat.

The trainees gasped.

But Orion didn’t strike. He just held her there for a single, measured breath before releasing her. His boot hadn’t even scuffed the edge of the circle.

Holly took a step back, breathing heavily. "What did I do wrong? You didn’t correct me like the others," she said, her voice edged with frustration.

Orion sighed softly. "You tried. But your issue is that you’re too confident."

Holly blinked. "What?"

"You’re too confident," he repeated, tone steady but firm. "Confidence is good—it keeps your blade from shaking. But too much of it blinds you. And your footwork..." He gestured at her stance. "It’s better, but it’s still not good enough. You’re still forcing it. You need more balance, less pride."

She looked stunned, her lips parting slightly as he went on.

"If you had worked together with someone else, perhaps you could have gotten the job done. But you felt you could do it alone. The one who refuses to see where he falls short will likely end up dead in a battle."

He lowered his daggers, turning away. "Remember that the next time you draw your weapon."

Holly’s expression froze for a moment before she masked it with a tight smile. "Understood," she said stiffly, lowering her blade.

Sophia turned to her group, raising a brow after that interaction. "You really think they’re dating?"

"I’m sure he’s just harsh on her because they’re together," Dren said thoughtfully. "Alpha Orion is usually harsher on the people he cares about."

The others nodded, but Sophia rolled her eyes again.

While there was truth in that, if Orion really cared about Holly, he would also be soft, like he was with her but she wasnt going to.point that out, instead, she asked something else.

"But they’re not mates... right?" she asked, her tone somewhere between curious and defensive. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

They all looked at her like she had just grown two heads.

"What?" she asked incredulously.

"You do know that not everyone gets a fated mate, right?" Cat asked.

"It’s rare. Extremely so," Micah added.

Sophia blinked in shock. The mark on her back pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat under her skin—as if reminding her that she was one of that rare kind. "Really?" she whispered.

"Yes," Nia said, nodding. "Most people never find their mates in their lifetime. Those who do are considered extremely lucky."

"And that’s why Alpha Orion doesn’t need to have a mate," Dren said, gesturing toward the circle. "As long as he can get a good partner—like Holly—I think that works."

Sophia groaned, rubbing her temples. "You know what...let’s just stop with the Holly and Orion talk. I don’t feel like she and Orion could be dating at all. Maybe she was lying to whoever you heard her talking to."

Nia frowned. "But why would she lie?"

Sophia shrugged. "I don’t know. But that’s the least of our concerns right now. We have to come up with a strategy to get Orion out of that circle."

"Do you have a plan in mind?" Micah asked quietly.

She grinned, her eyes glinting with mischief. "I may have a simple one."

Dren eyed her suspiciously. "When you say simple, how simple is it exactly?"

Sophia’s grin widened. "Simple enough."

The group huddled slightly, whispering as the clang of steel still echoed across the grounds.

Meanwhile, Holly had stepped back, chest heaving, her sword tip buried slightly in the packed earth.

She muttered something under her breath.

Orion turned to her with a frown. "You did better than most, you should be happy." He told her.

That only made her jaw tighten. "If I had used short swords," she muttered, "I could have gotten you to move. You wouldn’t have told me not to be so confident."

Orion’s brows lifted slightly, but he didn’t respond. That was because he didn’t see any reason in responding to her at all. He was done with their session together so he moved on to the others who drew back a bit after witnessing what went on with Holly but he just smiled.

"Remember what’s at stake." He told them.

That was enough to make them move. Meanwhile Sophia’s group were done with her plan.

"You said simple enough." Dren told her.

"That’s because it is simple enough." She told him with a wink.

"If I die today, let it be known that it was because I decided to befriend you." Nia said to her.

Sophia laughed. "You guys are being dramatic. The plan is simple isn’t it?" She asked them.

They all turned to each other then in a sullen voice, chorused. "It is simple enough."