Chapter 244: Through the Storm

Orion felt it first as a sharp twist, a searing stab to his chest. It was sudden, a pain unlike anything he had ever experienced, twisting through his ribs, through his lungs, and searing into the pit of his heart. His body jerked awake, yet when he opened his eyes, it was not the familiar dark comfort of his bedroom, nor the warmth of his bed beside Sophia. No, it was a void. A blackness so complete it pressed against him from all sides. Silence settled heavy, absolute, so thick that every heartbeat, every inhale, sounded deafening in its emptiness.

And then he heard it.

A voice, raw and ragged, breaking through the silence. A voice he’d recognize anywhere and anytime.

"Get me out! There may still be time, let me out! Let me out! Please. Whatever is happening here... just... Brynhild can’t die... please, please she can’t die. She..."

The words carried weight, drenched in anguish, each syllable punctuated with sobs that made his chest constrict.

"She’s my friend. She’s the first friend I made in the pack. Don’t let her die... please don’t let her die," the voice continued, shaking, breaking apart in between gulps of breath.

Orion froze.

He tried to speak, to call out to her, to ask what was happening. His mouth opened, but only a hollow sound escaped him, swallowed by the endless dark. He wanted to rush toward her, to pierce the void, but his limbs refused to move.

The crying intensified, pulling at him with a physical force, a magnetic ache that made his head spin.

"She’s my friend... she’s the first person to accept me... she... she..."

The sobs tore into him. The weight of grief and terror, carried on her voice alone, made his knees buckle. He wanted to hold her, to reassure her, to do anything, yet he was powerless. His hands itched to reach her, to bridge the empty chasm between them, but there was nothing—nothing but the sound of her heartbreak reverberating through his chest.

He tried again to speak. "Sophia... Sophia, what is—"

And then, abruptly, the sobs stopped.

The silence was sudden, cruel, and Orion opened his eyes again, this time to his bedroom. The familiar shadows of his home stretched across the floor, the hearth burning softly.

But the room was not as it should be. Sophia’s side of the bed was empty.

The door was ajar. Rain splashed inside, forming small puddles on the floor where the wind drove the storm through the opening. A chill seeped into the room, pricking his skin and setting him on edge. His chest tightened with dread.

Orion’s gaze shot to the empty bed, then to the doorway. He cursed under his breath, low and furious, when he realized that Sophia had left wearing nothing but a tunic. He leapt from the bed, his movements swift, calculated despite the panic tightening his chest.

He threw on trousers, his boots hitting the floor with a heavy thud, then a tunic, before snatching a blanket and a change of clothes. His heart pounded fiercely as he threw the bundle over his arm and dashed out into the storm.

The rain fell in sheets, icy and merciless, slapping against his skin and plastering his hair to his head. Visibility was nearly nonexistent, but Orion relied on his instincts, his senses sharpened in ways the storm could not dull. He inhaled deeply, searching for the faintest trace of her scent.

It led him through the night, through winding paths slick with rain, to the medical facility.

Orion pushed the door open before it was closed shut by the healer there.

His eyes moved about, searching for her short figure, and there she was, screaming at Lysander, who carried various herbs in his hands. Marta stood with a frown too, watching her.

"Stop! Stop! You should not be... in charge! You cannot... you must not be in charge!"

"I have no idea what you mean," Lysander told her.

"You... you cannot be in charge of her. Don’t take charge. Don’t be the leading healer... don’t be the one to be in charge of Brynhild giving birth."

Lysander’s brow furrowed, eyes narrowing slightly. "Who told you Brynhild is in labour?" 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"That’s not the point right now, Lysander. Please, listen to me, I beg you."

"Sophia, I respect you, but I need you to step aside. I need to help my wife," he told her.

Sophia’s hands trembled, quivering as she reached out toward him. Her words broke as sobs rattled her throat. "You... you cannot... I... I can’t... I just can’t... Please, you can’t... Lysander, you can assist, but you... you should not be in charge. Please..."

Orion’s gaze swept over her, noting the raw intensity in her posture, the way she shook under the rain’s assault, and the wet blanket clutched in his arm. He looked down and saw the fabric soaking through with water. A curse tore through him, low and furious, as he turned to one of the healers inside.

"Get dry blankets. Now!"

He returned to Sophia, kneeling slightly to meet her eyes. "Sophia... what’s going on? Tell me," he asked, his voice steady but edged with worry.

She shook her head, sobs breaking free again, her voice quivering. "I... I had a dream. Again. But this... this is not déjà vu. I... I cannot explain. But Lysander—he cannot... he should not... be in charge of the surgery. Please, he shouldn’t..."

Lysander frowned, taken aback by the insistence in her voice, but Sophia’s tone cut through the air. "We don’t have time to waste. Brynhild cannot give birth naturally. We need to proceed immediately."

"How... how do you know?" Marta asked her with a frown.

Sophia’s tears fell freely, blurring her vision, but she did not step back. "I... I just... I know. You must trust me. He... he cannot lead this. He can assist, yes, but... he should not be in charge. You... you must listen to me..."

Orion’s mind whirred, fragments of his own strange dream flashing before him. He saw the darkness, the black void, the piercing pain in his chest, and then the sound—the sound of Sophia’s crying, begging, shaking. He recognized it in her posture, in her eyes.

Something deep within him stirred. He had no idea why, but he felt there was a reason why her words reminded him of the dream he had, so he turned to Lysander.

"Brother... listen to her," he told him, and then added softly, "Please."

Sophia shook wildly and turned to Orion, inside shock.

"You believe me?" she asked him.

He nodded. "Yes."