Chapter 34: Frayed Edges

Orion’s scoff still lingered, a harsh echo in the stone-walled room, his furrowed brow betraying his struggle to comprehend her admission. She was about to hurt herself because she was curious? The words replayed in his mind, fueling a fresh wave of frustration.

He rubbed a hand over his face, the gash on his shoulder throbbing as he stepped around the desk, closing the distance between them.

"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice a gruff mix of exasperation and a sarcastic undertone that suggested that she was out of her mind. His eyes narrowed, searching her flushed face for any sign of regret, but all he found was that defiant spark that drove him mad.

Sophia’s lips curled into a wry smirk, her hands planting on her hips. "Oh, I’m just dandy, thanks for the concern," she shot back, her tone dripping with mockery.

"What’s next, a sermon on how to stay out of trouble, oh wise alpha?"

Orion’s jaw clenched with irritation, he stepped closer, his towering frame casting a shadow over her. "I’m not joking, Sophia. What if you’d put yourself in danger out there? What if that Trihydra had gotten to you, or a Skylur? What if we hadn’t held the gate?" His voice rose, each question a hammer strike, the memory of the beasts’ snarls flashing behind his eyes.

The thought of her fragile form against those monsters sent a chill down his spine, though he buried it beneath his scowl.

She lifted her chin, her defiance unshaken. "Then I would’ve fought," she declared, her voice steady but laced with a lie she couldn’t quite hide.

The image of her facing a Skylur with anything but a panicked flail was absurd, and Orion’s scoff cut through the air like a blade.

There was a ringing in his ears as the words settled and that prickling sensation

"Fought?" he repeated, his tone thick with disbelief. "Do you even know how to fight?"

His gaze bore into hers, and when she averted her eyes, staring at a crack in the stone floor, he shook his head. "Didn’t think so. You’re being foolish, Sophia. Curiosity killed the cat, and I won’t let you put my people in danger over it."

Sophia’s hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as anger flared. "I only went to see," she argued, her voice rising. "I wasn’t planning to play hero, I just wanted to know what you were all fighting for! Is that a crime now?"

Orion’s eyes narrowed, and he leaned in, his voice dropping to a growl. "You were stupid for even thinking you could just see and walk away unscathed. Those beasts are dangerous, Skylurs that can rip a man apart, a Trihydra that nearly took me down. You think a little look satisfies that kind of threat?"

"I know they’re dangerous!" she snapped, her voice cracking with frustration. "I saw them, Orion! Don’t you dare tell me I don’t get it!"

He shook his head, his expression hardening into a mask of resolve. "I’m not sure you do," he said coldly. "If you did, you wouldn’t be so foolish as to risk hurting yourself or the members of my pack. One wrong move, and you could’ve been a liability, drawing their attention when we were barely holding the line."

Sophia’s temper erupted, her words spilling out like venom. "And you don’t get the fact that I didn’t draw any attention." She told him. "At least not one that could have put the pack in danger. I only went to look, that’s it. I didn’t hurt anyone at all. Is that so hard for your noble self to get into that thick skull of yours?"

Orion’s face flushed, his hands clenching as he stepped closer, his voice a low thunder. "Watch your mouth, Sophia. I’m trying to keep you alive, not coddle you. You think this is a game? That curiosity gives you a free pass to endanger us? I ought to lock you up for your own good!"

"Lock me up?" she sneered, stepping into his space, her dark eyes blazing. "Try it, and I’ll break out just to spite you. You’re a control freak, Orion, and I’m sick of your sanctimonious bullshit!"

The argument spiraled, their voices clashing like storm waves against a cliff. Orion accused her of recklessness

"You’re a walking disaster waiting to happen!"

while Sophia hurled insults back "Arrogant bully!" and "Overgrown mutt!" her hands gesturing wildly as she paced the small space.

The room seemed to shrink, the weight of their words pressing against the stone walls, drowning out the distant voices from other members of rhe pack who were still rejoicing from the little battle with the beasts.

"You don’t get to dictate my life!" Sophia shouted, her voice echoing off the ceiling. "I’m not one of your obedient wolves!"

"And you don’t get to play martyr when you can’t even swing a sword!" Orion roared, his patience fraying. "I’ve lost enough to those beasts and even people don’t make me lose more because of your damn foolishness!"

The words hung heavy, a raw wound exposed. Sophia’s chest heaved, her anger warring with a flicker of guilt, but she masked it with a scowl. "Maybe you should’ve let the Skylur have me then," she muttered, her voice low but cutting.

Orion’s eyes darkened, his breath hitching, but before he could respond, the office door swung open with a resounding bang.

Lysander stormed in, his huge frame taut with anger, his long blonde hair pulled into a tight bun that seemed to quiver with his fury. His eyes, sharp and unyielding, darted between them, his healer’s pouches clinking as he moved. Blood stained his tunic, likely from tending to Brynhild, and his clenched fists suggested he was ready to intervene.

"Are you mad?" Lysander demanded, his voice silenced their bickering.

His gaze fixed on Orion, ignoring Sophia for the moment, though the tension in his stance hinted at a deeper fury. The air shifted, the argument’s heat giving way to a new storm, and Sophia stepped back, her breath ragged, wondering what Lysander’s anger would unl

eash next. And thanking the goddess that it wasn’t on her.