Chapter 265: Where He Stays

Orion nodded. "I’ll join you," he told Lysander.

Lysander blinked, turning slightly to look at him.

"In your research," Orion continued. "I might not be as smart as you, but I can read. I can dig. I can help search for anything — medical, psychological, historical, supernatural, I don’t care. I’ll search for anything we can use."

Lysander studied him for a moment, then nodded once.

"I won’t reject another brain," he said. "Even if that brain belongs to you."

Orion huffed quietly but didn’t argue.

Then he looked at Marta.

"Help me call someone," he said.

Marta tilted her head.

"Who?"

"Before that..." He hesitated slightly, then glanced down at Sophia’s hand still wrapped weakly around his own. "Can I stay with her?"

Marta’s expression shifted immediately.

She frowned.

"Stay... how?" she asked.

"Here," he replied simply. "In this room. Until she recovers."

Marta looked at him carefully. She could see it — the tension in his jaw, the exhaustion hidden in his eyes, the stubbornness clinging to him like armor. She opened her mouth, probably to object, but Orion spoke again before she could.

"She feels... less restless when I’m here," he murmured. "You all had to wait for me before she let anyone touch her at all... and..." He swallowed. "I left for a few hours, Marta. Just a few... and look what happened."

Marta’s frown softened.

"I can do everything I need to do from here," he added. "Whatever work I have, I’ll bring it here. I won’t leave her alone again. Not if I don’t have to."

For a few seconds, Marta just stared at him.

Then she scoffed lightly.

"You’re asking like you need my permission," she muttered. "Orion, you own the damn place. You don’t need to ask me anything."

"I don’t own it. It belongs to the pack," he told her.

"And you are the leader of this pack. You don’t need to ask me for anything at all," she replied.

"Nah, there’s no way I can’t ask you. That’s not proper at all. Being the leader doesn’t make me entitled," he argued.

Marta gave him a look, then sighed.

"What I mean is, you can do whatever you want in here, and besides, you shouldn’t be asking me. I’m not the head of the medical facility, only the assistant. You should be asking Lysander."

Lysander chuckled. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"You are in charge now, Marta. I’m only here because of my family, and I’m doing this for Sophia because she’s my patient and her case is different."

Marta rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. But like I said," she told Orion, "you can do whatever you want here... just keep it quiet and hold your meetings at a different place, okay?"

"Yes, ma," Orion told her with a smile on his face.

Then his tone shifted.

"But I do need you to send someone for Garrett."

"I’ll do that, don’t worry yourself," Marta said immediately.

She moved toward the door but paused, glancing back at them once more. Her gaze softened slightly when it landed on Sophia.

"In case I didn’t tell you this before, I’m happy you guys are together."

Orion’s lips twitched.

"Thank you."

Marta left the room after that.

Silence crept back in slowly.

Lysander watched Orion for a moment longer, something unreadable in his expression.

"What?" Orion asked without looking at him.

"You do know you staying in here is basically you telling the whole pack that you and Sophia are together, right?" Lysander asked.

"So?"

"You were keeping your relationship a secret. They’ll put everything together before you know it," he told him.

Orion sighed.

"At this point, I don’t even care. As long as Sophia gets to be okay, I’ll do anything, even exposing my relationship with her to the pack. Besides, your wife said I should do what Ronan told us."

Lysander smiled.

"Deal with the future when it meets us on the road."

Orion laughed.

"Well, I need to get back to my wife. I’ll see you later," Lysander said as he walked out.

The door closed, leaving Orion alone with Sophia.

Minutes passed.

The room was quiet except for the faint sound of Sophia’s breathing.

She stirred slightly, her brows knitting together again.

Orion leaned closer instantly.

"Whatever you’re seeing isn’t real, shorty. Except maybe it’s me... then yes, that’s real. That’s me telling you to come back and look at me with those eyes of yours."

He paused.

"Have I ever told you how beautiful your eyes are? Wait... I think I have. Well, anyway, I’m sure whoever you are, they didn’t tell you, so I’ll tell you again and again and again until you get tired of hearing my voice. You have beautiful eyes, and I just want to see them focused on me, especially — not unfocused."

Her breathing wavered.

His thumb brushed slow circles against her knuckles, grounding her.

And then there was a knock.

He didn’t answer.

The door opened slightly anyway.

Garrett stepped inside.

He stopped when he saw the scene.

Orion seated beside the bed, Sophia holding his hand, his head bent slightly toward her like the world outside the room didn’t exist.

Garrett cleared his throat softly.

"Alpha Orion," he called out.

Orion already knew it was Garrett even before he walked into the room.

"I’ll be working from here now," he said quietly. "Bring everything. All pending documents. All correspondence. Everything that needs my attention — bring it to this room."

Garrett hesitated briefly.

"...All of it?"

"All of it."

"And also, can you tell Garron I’m calling for him?" Orion added.

Garrett nodded.

"Yes, sir. I’ll return shortly," he said before stepping back out.

Orion nodded, then turned back to Sophia. She slept peacefully, her mouth in a pout. To anyone just looking, it seemed like she was only having a peaceful sleep, but Orion knew better.

He watched her chest rise and fall.

"Honestly, I wish I could pull you back myself," he whispered. "If only I could walk into your mind and pull you out by force."

But he knew better.

This was a battle she had to fight inside herself.

All he could do was stay by her side.

Garrett returned within the hour, arms full of paperwork.

He set them carefully on the table near the window. There was already a chair there, so he dragged it closer.

"Garron is wrapping up training with the trainees. He’ll be here soon," Garrett told him.

Orion nodded.

Garrett’s gaze moved to Sophia, then to Orion, then back to Sophia again...

But he didn’t say anything at all. Instead, he worked with Orion quietly.