Chapter 511: Resting Between Shadows

The hall had emptied almost as quickly as the last of the parchments had been set aside. Chairs scraped the floor softly. Footsteps echoed faintly against the floor. The distant murmurs of departing council members faded. Only Lysander, Ronan, Orion, and Sophia remained, standing in the quiet of the room, the weight of what had passed lingering in the still air.

Sophia looked up, her eyes meeting Orion’s, and she found him watching her.

He didn’t speak at first, only studied her with that quiet patience that seemed almost unnerving.

If he could get Oculum, he would ask why something like that had been left lying around the house in the first place. But Oculum was gone. And it didn’t matter now. What mattered was Sophia. And she needed rest, whether she wanted it or not.

He had wanted to discuss her translations. He had wanted to see if perhaps the others could understand what she had painstakingly unraveled.

But he could not do that. Sophia needed the break. She had an emotional meltdown just a while ago. If he had put a stop to the meeting immediately after that, despite her words, she would have argued with him.

So he did both. He let the meeting continue for a while before putting a stop to it. Thankfully, every person at the council understood what he had done. Sophia needed the break.

"Man," Ronan muttered, breaking the quiet, rubbing at his neck. "This meeting... it was hefty work. I need to relax."

Lysander raised an eyebrow. "You’re going to get some woman to sleep with or what?"

Ronan’s lips curved in a grin, half amused, half smug. "I had a dream, brother," he said slowly, "I met my wife. So I’m on a vow of celibacy until then."

Orion’s eyebrows lifted sharply. "You—are you possibly the new Luna?"

Ronan chuckled, shaking his head. "Nothing like that. But I did see a woman..." His voice dropped, low and playful, "...with a body just like I like women. Her ass..." He smirked. "...I could sleep on her pillowy ass."

Orion snorted quietly, a chuckle that barely lifted the room’s tension. Even Sophia let out a small laugh.

"For you," she said softly, "I hope it comes true."

"I hope it comes true too, sister-in-law," Ronan replied without hesitation, "so I can show you and Orion what you guys do to me."

Sophia chuckled again, and all too suddenly, her amusement faded into a frown, curiosity threading its way through her exhaustion. "Orion..." she began, "why did the meeting end early? I thought we were going to... go over more. I thought—"

Orion stepped closer, his hands relaxed at his sides. "You needed a break," he said softly.

Her brow furrowed. "I—needed a break? Did I tell you that I needed one?"

Lysander and Ronan cleared their throats simultaneously. A soft, almost imperceptible warning. And then, without waiting for a reply, they both began to leave the hall, their footsteps echoing against the floor, leaving Sophia and Orion alone.

Sophia’s eyes flashed briefly. "Stop treating me like glass."

"I’m not," he said quietly. And then he stepped back slightly, letting the pause stretch. "But it’s obvious. You were pushing through the meeting with sheer stubbornness. And everyone noticed, Sophia. Everyone noticed that you were shaken from the drawing. I noticed too."

She opened her mouth, ready to argue.

"Don’t even think about lying to me," he interrupted softly but firmly. "It was obvious. You wanted to try to resolve as much as you could, and that’s admirable. But you can’t push yourself too far. Not like that."

Sophia’s lips pressed together. Her hands fidgeted, twisting the hem of her sleeve. "...I just..."

"I know what you’re trying to do," Orion said, his voice gentle but steady. "You want to avoid that vision from coming true. I understand that. I do. But that doesn’t mean you should push yourself to the point of breaking. Like you did last time."

Her gaze fell to the floor. Her fingers flexed. Her voice was quiet, almost a whisper. "I... I want to change it. I want to... make it not happen."

He stepped closer, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I trust you to change it," he said. "But trust yourself enough to step back when you need to. Sometimes, shorty, you have to rest in order to fight better. You can’t be strong for everyone if you break yourself first."

Her head lifted slowly. The tension in her jaw softened slightly, but the storm in her eyes remained. She wanted to argue. She wanted to insist she could push on. But the quiet authority in Orion’s voice and the warmth in his gaze forced a reluctant pause.

"Rest," he said simply. "Even the strongest need to rest."

Her lips twitched faintly. "...Even the stubbornest?"

"Especially the stubbornest," he murmured. A small smirk curved his lips. "And you, shorty... are the most stubborn I know."

"And you think you’re not stubborn?" she asked him.

"Oh, I’m stubborn. I am very stubborn. Maybe that’s why we match after all," he told her.

Sophia stared into his eyes then, as if memorizing every detail in his orbs.

"Am I so handsome you can’t take your eyes away from me?" Orion asked her with a smirk.

She rolled her eyes at him even as her lips tugged.

"Kiss me," she told him.

Orion didn’t hesitate. He leaned in and pressed his lips against hers. It was soft at first, and like always, it became more. He slipped his tongue into her open mouth, and she drew him closer as she accepted him fully.

"Um... Alpha Orion?" Garrett called out, hesitant.

Orion released Sophia and groaned softly.

"What is it?" he asked, turning to Garrett.

"I’m supposed to clear out the hall, but... um... you are... I’m sorry, but—"

Sophia chuckled.

"I understand, Garrett. Do your work," Orion told him.

"It seems we’ll have to settle this one another day," Orion said to Sophia as he picked her up.

Her reply was only a chuckle.