Chapter 569: To Understand The Mark Behind

Chapter 568: To Understand The Mark Behind

While Sophia had gone to visit her friends, Orion decided to get a head start on what he had told Sophia he would do. And he knew if he lingered, then there was every probability that he would not get the answers he sought.

As he moved through the compound, Noctis stirred.

*You know, could it be that you are jealous of the bond I have with our mate?*Noctis told him.

Orion made a disgusted sound. "Jealous wouldn’t be the right word; I’m more irritated that she thinks you are more handsome than I am."

*Well, if it was a lie, you would have gotten a reaction, I suppose.* Noctis said calmly.

Orion could not argue with that. He laughed.

"True." Then, after a pause, he added, "Are you still not going to tell me anything about the mark on my back?"

Noctis was quiet for a while, and then he spoke.

*You are already seeking answers,* he told Orion.

"But I suspect you have the answer I seek."

*I do, but I’m not going to tell you. You seem to have forgotten that I was the one who reminded you of the fact that you had to get answers regarding the mark and many other things.*

"But still..."

*I may help if I feel like it. Sometimes, the answers are right in front of us, and we just fail to see them.*

---

The shrine was small, cozy, yet meticulously adorned. Charms hung along the walls—tiny silver moons, delicate stars etched into parchment, protective runes inked in ink that shimmered faintly under the light.

Crystals sat in niches, catching the glow of the candles and scattering prisms across the walls. There was serenity here, yes, but also something potent, an awareness that the shrine observed, listened, and remembered.

Orion nodded politely at the attendants who worked quietly, arranging scrolls, tending the small fires, and maintaining the balance of ritual tools. He returned the small bows and murmured greetings, moving directly toward the figure he had come for: the grey-haired woman seated across from Eldric at a table littered with books, parchments, vials, and implements of mysticism. Madam Tyler’s hands were busy, but her sharp eyes lifted, immediately noting his presence.

"Orion," she said, her tone polite but threaded with suspicion. "What brings you to the shrine?"

Orion’s lips curved slightly, and he allowed a quiet laugh to escape. "I can’t just come?"

Madam Tyler arched an eyebrow. "You avoid this place like it’s the plague. You’ve always avoided it, especially given your... affinity with the goddess. And that makes me suspect there is a reason for your visit—a reason that has nothing to do with worship."

Orion chuckled again, soft and low. "You’re right," he said. "I did not come for the goddess..."

"...have you ever come here for her?" Madam Tyler asked, interrupting him.

"No." Orion said honestly.

The woman laughed at that. "What brings you here, then, alpha?"

Orion turned to Eldric and then spoke up. "It’s actually quite nice that both of you are present here. I have something that perhaps requires your attention."

Eldric adjusted his glasses, his frown deepening slightly. "Both our attentions?" he asked, and Orion nodded.

"Although..." Orion said, as he looked about the busy shrine, "I would prefer somewhere more private. What I came to ask for... requires a certain degree of... nudity."

Madam Tyler blinked, her frown sharpening into a mixture of disapproval and contemplation. After a brief pause, she rose, her movements deliberate. "Follow me."

The three of them moved in silence, leaving the main chamber and walking toward a smaller, tucked-away room used partly for storage. Bookshelves lined one wall, brimming with leather-bound volumes and neatly stacked scrolls.

"Were you guys working on what we got from the rocks?" Orion asked her.

Madam Tyler nodded. "Yes. Information is power, after all, and I still believe that if we are seeing these things now, then there must be a reason."

Orion nodded at that.

Eldric adjusted his glasses. "I reckon what you have to show us is important enough to make us leave that work, right?" he asked.

Orion rolled his eyes. "I’m not very sure it’s important to everyone else, but yes, it’s important to me and Sophia too."

Madam Tyler was more attentive now, and Orion noticed.

"Wow, you look eager to hear what I have to say now that you heard it may be important to Sophia."

Madam Tyler shrugged. "I like her, dare I say, more than I like you."

"Really?" Orion asked in disbelief.

Madam Tyler only smiled in reply.

Orion sighed. "Anyway, I’m here regarding the mating mark—mine and Sophia’s," he told them.

Madam Tyler’s brow furrowed, curiosity and concern mingling in her gaze. Eldric leaned forward slightly, adjusting his glasses again, his frown deepening as he stared at Orion.

"Is there something wrong with your mating marks?" he asked. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"I don’t know... well, it’s better if I just show you guys," Orion told them.

Without another word, he moved to remove his cloak, folding it neatly and setting it aside. The fabric slid off his shoulders, revealing the dark tunic beneath, its heavy cloth soft against his skin. He lifted the tunic over his head, his muscles tensing slightly as the cool air of the room brushed against him.

The mark glimmered faintly in the light. A silver crescent sat at the center, encircled by smaller moons, delicate and luminous. Each moon seemed to pulse subtly, as though breathing in tandem with Orion’s heartbeat. The edges of the crescent were fine, almost lace-like, and the tiny moons around it shimmered with a faint inner light, giving the impression of movement. It was unmistakably a mark of power, magic, and connection—a mating mark, but one that resonated differently than any known pattern.

Madam Tyler’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the mark.

"This... this is your mark?" she asked.

Orion nodded.

"Fascinating," Eldric murmured.

He removed his glasses, cleaned them, and then put them back on again just to be certain he was seeing clearly.

"Really fascinating," he said, his voice in awe.