Chapter 263: I’m Her Mate

When Lysander had asked Brynhild what she meant by "annoying kid," she chuckled and told him that Sophia was extremely curious, and some people would find it annoying with how much she asked questions and how much she needed to know things, even putting herself in danger.

The Sophia he saw now was none of those things.

Finally, Orion arrived, breathing heavily.

"What’s going on?" he asked Lysander, but then he turned and saw Sophia in a corner crying and muttering to herself.

Orion turned to Lysander in anger, but Lysander spoke before he could.

"If we could have done something, we would. She wouldn’t let anyone touch her at all. I’ll tell you everything that happened later, but please, can you convince her to get to the bed or, if possible, carry her? She needs to rest, and she’s not getting that with how much she’s trying to hide herself in the wall," Lysander told him.

Orion’s jaw clenched. He wanted to say something, but his first priority was Sophia, so he nodded. His eyes were sharp as he surveyed Sophia curled in the corner. Her body trembled, small fists clutching the blanket, eyes darting from Lysander to Marta, then catching him. She hesitated, quivering with fear, but something in Orion’s presence allowed her to slowly relax enough to let him approach.

He knelt carefully, putting just a little distance between them. "Shorty," he called out.

Her eyes were unfocused, but they stared in his direction. Orion didn’t care; he took that as a win.

"You don’t plan on becoming a rat, do you?" he asked her with a smile.

She didn’t reply. Orion sighed—he should have known that wouldn’t work, but teasing was familiar territory for her, especially when it came to him.

"I’m going to pick you up and place you on the bed. If you don’t want me to do that, you’re going to have to tell me no, okay?" he told her.

He knew she wouldn’t reply. While he was seeing her looking at him, Sophia was seeing something else in her mind.

He waited for a few seconds, and when she didn’t say anything, he closed the distance between them.

Before he even stretched his hands toward her, Sophia’s hands reached toward him briefly. But she withdrew them back as if shocked by the movement herself.

"I... I’m... sorry."

Orion didn’t pay any mind to the apology. His presence was steady, his hands firm yet gentle as he scooped her into his arms. She moved closer as if trying to bask in his warmth. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Orion chuckled lightly. "Still needy even when sick."

Sophia held his tunic with a shivering hand—the grip was light, though—but she held him still.

Lysander watched as his friend placed Sophia’s frail body on the bed. Orion didn’t know yet—Lysander doubted he did—but Orion was already far gone for Sophia.

Once she was on the bed, Orion eased her down, laying her under the blankets she had wrapped herself in earlier. He removed her fingers from his tunic and turned to Lysander, nodding.

Lysander approached Sophia then, observing her closely. He tried to take her hands, but she recoiled slightly.

Even Orion’s words and his presence calming her down did nothing to fully appease her.

Marta stepped forward, holding the bowl and wet cloth. "Let me try again."

"Sophia," she said softly, "you’re going to be okay. I’m here now."

Sophia almost flinched again, but Orion spoke up. "Come on, shorty, it’s Marta. She’s just going to give you something to help with the fever, okay? She’s going to help you."

Sophia seemed to calm down after his words. Lysander, for the love of all things, could not understand why she wasn’t calm when he had tried—even when Orion had spoken to her earlier.

Marta placed the wet cloth carefully on her fevered forehead, the cool dampness a small relief against the burning heat of her skin.

She administered the prescribed medicine, but Sophia refused to take it. Orion took the medicine from Marta and had to speak with Sophia again, even drinking from it before quietly coaxing her to drink from the cup too.

"You’re doing well, Sophia," Marta whispered. "Just a little longer, and you’ll start to feel better. I promise."

Sophia didn’t hear Marta’s words—or maybe she did—but after she took the medicine, she finally settled and fell into a deep sleep.

It was only after she fell asleep that Orion turned to his friend and to Marta, who was staring at Orion with a frown. Orion knew the woman would have questions for him, especially after seeing the way Sophia had responded to him—how he had been able to calm her down—but he didn’t care.

Sophia’s health mattered more than a secret he wanted to keep for selfishness’ sake.

"What happened?" Orion asked them.

Lysander gave him a recount of everything Mira had told him and told him how Sophia refused pretty much everyone who approached her, flinching at every interval until he came.

"Don’t you think this is getting worse?" Orion asked him. "Do you think we should call Madam Tyler in? Maybe she can use some of her charms or maybe even pray to the Moon Goddess for whatever miracle."

Lysander frowned. "I doubt that would do anything. But maybe we should seek her knowledge after all. I’m sorry, but this is beyond what I thought it would be. It’s obvious she’s hurting—and she’s hurting a lot too."

"Maybe we should call her mate?" Marta suggested, but her gaze was on Orion.

Orion knew the woman was just fishing for information—or rather, confirmation of something she already suspected.

"I think her mate will be able to calm her down, maybe even speak with her or something to bring her back, to remind her where she is," Marta added.

Lysander’s lips twitched with a smile.

Orion sighed. "Was that not what I just did?" he asked her.

"Well, yes, but I am saying maybe if her mate..." Marta said the word with emphasis.

"I’m her mate, Marta," Orion told her.