Chapter 520: The Message That Came Running

Chapter 519: The Message That Came Running

The gravel crunched beneath Orion’s boots as he walked down the pathway that led toward the office.

The compound had settled into its usual rhythm. A few pack members moved in the distance, their voices faint against the rustling of leaves and the quiet sigh of wind through the trees. Lantern posts stood along the path.

Orion had a thoughtful expression on his face as he walked.

He had barely made it halfway down the path before he spoke up again.

"Noctis."

There was a pause.

Then the familiar presence stirred inside his mind.

*You have something to ask of me?* Noctis asked him.

Orion scoffed.

"That much is obvious."

*Pretty much. I expected you to begin asking immediately after you told me there was much you needed to know,* Noctis told him.

Orion chuckled at that. "I was trying to get my thoughts straight... but anyways, do you have any idea who Oculum is?"

Silence followed his question.

For a moment the only sound was his footsteps along the path.

Then Noctis spoke again.

*Oculum has already told you and Sophia everything there is to know about him.*

Orion’s mouth flattened.

"That’s not what I asked."

Noctis did not answer immediately.

Orion continued walking, passing beneath the shade of one of the taller trees lining the path.

"You told me that if I ever got a name, it might ring a bell," Orion added. "You still haven’t told me whether you knew about him or not."

A quiet sigh echoed in his mind.

*I did,* Noctis admitted. *Immediately I heard the name, I remembered who he was.*

Orion nodded. There was very little that surprised him now when it came to the things Noctis knew, and he suspected Noctis knew more, but it would be difficult to know everything Noctis knew.

"You know, immediately you recognized him you could have said something," Orion told him.

*Like what?* Noctis asked him.

"Like, ’Orion, I remember who the one in Eldric is, the name finally rings a bell.’"

Noctis paused, considering Orion’s words. *Well then, I’m sorry I couldn’t answer like that. Oculum has already told you everything you need to know.*

"I see what you did there," Orion said with a slight smirk.

"Do you have any idea about those strange stone placements deep in Nirvana?" he asked.

*The ones where the blackened stone was seen?* Noctis asked him.

"Yes."

*That is one thing I have no knowledge about, but I don’t have a good feeling about it.*

"Well that makes two of us. How about the Trine of Ash and Vein? You did say you knew about it."

Orion kicked a small stone along the path absentmindedly.

*I said I did, but I doubt I’ll be of much help regarding that too. I only know as much as Madam Tyler and Eldric know,* Noctis told him.

Orion huffed a breath. "Well, that’s disappointing."

*I’m sorry I’m not much help.*

"Oh you will be. You may not be of help now, but I don’t doubt for a second that you would be of help later. I know there’s much that you have yet to tell me after all," Orion told him.

Noctis was about to speak again when they both heard footsteps approaching them—fast ones... the sound of someone running.

Orion’s head turned toward the sound just as a figure came sprinting down the path toward him.

Garrett.

Orion frowned immediately.

The young man was moving fast enough that gravel scattered under his boots with every step.

He looked like he had been running for a while already.

By the time he reached Orion, he bent over suddenly, planting his hands on his knees.

He was breathing like someone who had just outrun a wolf.

Orion crossed his arms.

"What’s making you run like someone set your ass on fire?"

Garrett tried to answer but what came out instead was a wheeze.

Orion raised an eyebrow at that.

Garrett sucked in a deep breath before finally speaking.

"Sam—"

He paused again, trying to catch his breath.

Orion’s expression sharpened slightly.

"What about Sam?"

Garrett pointed vaguely back toward the compound.

"She just—"

Another breath.

"—ran out of the pack compound."

Orion straightened.

Garrett gestured again, words rushing out now.

"Like her tail was on fire."

Orion’s brows pulled together. He could only think of one reason why Sam would run out of the compound like that... Tobias.

Garrett continued.

"Ronan sent me to you," he said, still panting. "He ran after her."

Orion didn’t wait for him to finish.

The moment the words left Garrett’s mouth, Orion was already moving.

He turned sharply but first turned to Garrett.

"Find Mary or Daniel or even Caspian!" he said sharply as Garrett blinked.

"Yes?"

"Tell them what you saw!" Orion finished.

Garrett’s chest rose and fell heavily as he nodded.

"They’ll know what to do!"

And then Orion broke into a run heading for the gates. Snow sprayed beneath his boots as he pushed forward.

He could only imagine what could make Sam run out like that. He really hoped that Tobias was okay.

---

Meanwhile, outside the pack compound

Brynhild was with her group as they scouted the area for any trace that could lead to a Trihydra nest.

But her ears picked up when she heard the sound of paws against the earth and a scent she could detect from even miles away.

"Sam?" she asked with a frown on her face.

"What?" Gregory asked her. "Sam isn’t here."

Brynhild shook her head. "But she’s..."

Before she could even finish her words, a blur of black fur ran past them.

Brynhild turned to Gregory. "Continue the search, I’ll be right back," she told him, and then shifted, running after Sam.

She had no idea why she was at alert. She could only think of one reason why Sam would run like that... Tobias.

---

Just near the entrance to Nirvana

A group of people gathered, a woman trying frantically to stop the bleeding from a man’s side. She knew he had already lost a lot of blood, and if not for the fact that he had saved her people, he wouldn’t be in this situation.

"Fuck!" she cried out. "Hold on a bit, we are in Nirvana already. Just hold on."