Chapter 275: Whispers That Never Sleep

It had been a full week now.

A whole, dragging, agonising week since Sophia had collapsed.

A week of dread, restless pacing, half-eaten meals, and conversations spoken in hushed tones. A week where the entire pack had slowly adjusted to the strange stillness that surrounded her absence from their daily lives.

And despite Marta’s continuous reassurance that she would inform them when Sophia was stable, Joren and the others still kept showing up at the medical facility. Every day. Sometimes twice.

Everytime they came, they asked if Sophia was awake. And Everytime for the past few days, they got the same answer.

Orion and Lysander, on the other hand, had poured everything they had into figuring out more about Sophia’s condition. There was very little information they had about the condition, the only thing they even had was the book Tobias had brought for Lysander.

It was as if Sophia’s situation existed between knowledge and mystery — not fully understood by anyone, not even the ancients whose words littered those yellowed pages.

And while the medical wing remained heavy and quiet...

The rest of the pack was anything but.

The whole compound buzzed with one single conclusion.

Orion and Sophia were together.

Orion didn’t confirm it with words. He didn’t tell them outright that he and Sophia were together but he also didn’t deny it.

Some were thrilled.

Some were appalled.

And some... well, they just wanted something to talk about.

But Orion didn’t care.

This was his life.

And he would choose who he wanted in it.

No one else.

And besides, fate didn’t make mistakes after all.

He and Sophia belonged with each other.

He lifted a hand and rubbed between his brows, trying to ease the tension that sat there like a permanent ache. His eyes burned from lack of sleep. His vision blurred sometimes when he stared too long.

His body was just as tired.

His limbs ached from sleeping upright on that damn chair night after night.

But he didn’t care.

None of that mattered.

Because Sophia was his mate.

And he was going to do everything — everything in his power — to make sure he helped her get better.

"Orion," Lysander called gently.

He didn’t turn immediately.

"You should get some rest."

"I know," Orion answered, his voice low and rough.

The room was a mess of scattered papers and open books. Scribbled notes, theories, and scribbles that made no sense to anyone except the two of them, well Lysander was the one it made more sense to.

Near the far side of the room, Lysander stood holding Raina, who slept in his arms, her tiny face peaceful, unaware of the quiet storm surrounding her.

Fatherhood sat well on him.

Better than Orion had expected.

"You look like you’re thirty years older," Lysander said after a moment.

"That bad?" Orion murmured.

"Worse," Lysander replied dryly.

Orion huffed a faint breath at that.

Lysander shifted Raina slightly. "You’re not actually going to rest, are you?"

Orion shook his head slowly. "It’s been a week. She’s calm, yes... but she still hasn’t woken up. I can’t just leave her like this and go sleep somewhere while she’s still—"

He stopped.

His chest tightened.

Lysander didn’t push him.

He’d already seen this struggle in his eyes over the past days.

"You think Sophia would appreciate those bags under your eyes when she wakes up?" Lysander asked instead.

Orion’s gaze softened as he looked at her sleeping figure.

Her lashes rested lightly against her cheeks.

Her lips were slightly parted.

Her breathing — slow, steady.

"She wouldn’t," he murmured. "She’d call me an ogre."

Lysander cracked a small smile. "Then why not just rest? We can move an extra bed into this room. You’d still be close."

Every time he suggested that, Orion always refused.

Because every time he had given her space... something terrible had happened.

"The last time I was even a few feet away," Orion said quietly, "you saw what happened."

Lysander’s face darkened briefly.

He remembered.

Sophia’s sudden convulsions.

The way her hands had clutched the sheets like she could feel him leaving.

The panic in her expression, even in her unconscious state.

"I know," he said. "But you’re not leaving her now. You’ll be right here."

Orion stared at him for a long moment.

Then finally nodded.

"...Alright."

A small victory.

"I’ll put Raina in her crib," Lysander said. "I’ll be right back."

Orion nodded and leaned back slightly in the chair, his eyes settling again on Sophia.

The rise and fall of her chest steadied him.

Just a little.

He was so focused on her that he barely noticed the door opening again.

But this time, Lysander wasn’t alone.

Garrett stepped in first.

And behind him... Garron.

Of course.

Orion didn’t need to ask why Garrett was there.

It was morning.

Which meant work. Which meant paperwork. And which meant endless requests from pack members that Orion didn’t have the strength to even care about right now.

"Orion," Garron greeted calmly.

His eyes moved to Sophia, then back to Orion.

"She still hasn’t woken," he stated.

It wasn’t a question.

"No," Orion said simply.

A silence fell for a moment.

Then Garron continued.

"Have you thought about what we spoke about last time?"

Orion already knew what he meant.

Instead of the usual sparring test, Garron had suggested a more practical approach — taking the trainees into the forest under supervision. A live-field evaluation.

It wasn’t about brute strength.

It was about instinct.

Adaptability.

Survival.

"It’s a good idea," Orion said. "We have enough capable people to supervise them."

Garron nodded once. "But..."

Orion already knew what was coming.

The test had been scheduled for today.

And he had made zero moves to leave this room.

"You’re postponing it again," Garron said.

"Until further notice," Orion corrected.

"Orion," Garron exhaled, clearly restraining his frustration. "I understand why you’re here. Truly. But those trainees are also your responsibility."

"I’m not neglecting them," Orion replied calmly. "I’m delaying the test. There’s a difference."

"They don’t see it that way."

He glanced briefly at Lysander, silently asking him to talk sense into his friend. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Lysander only gave a small shrug.

"From their perspective, you’ve vanished. It’s been days since they last saw you. They’re restless," Garron pressed on. "I’m the one handling them now. And while they respect me... it’s not the same."

Orion frowned slightly.

"What exactly are you suggesting?"

"Just show your face," Garron said. "You don’t have to stay all day. Just go there. Say something. Let them hear it from you. Not me."

Orion was quiet.

He glanced at Sophia again.

Then back at Garron.

"You want me to walk away from here?"

"For maybe fifteen minutes," Garron replied.

Lysander gave him a pointed look. "Orion, you’ve been locked in here for days. You look like a ghost. Get some air. It won’t kill you to go to the training ground and speak to them for a while."

He sighed slowly, his fingers brushing against the armrest.

"Fine," he muttered.