Chapter 604: Tobias Is Awake

Sophia woke slowly.

For a brief moment, she didn’t move, her mind caught somewhere between sleep and awareness. Then reality settled in, and her eyes opened.

She was on the bed.

That alone made her pause.

She didn’t need to look around to know Orion wasn’t in the room with her.

A frown formed on her face.

"When did—"

She didn’t finish the thought.

She was already moving.

Sophia swung her legs off the bed and stood up, not bothering to fix anything as she made her way to the door. Her hand wrapped around the handle, and she pulled it open—

At the same time, someone on the other side did the same.

Ronan stumbled forward slightly, clearly not expecting the door to open from her side.

"—Whoa—"

He caught himself just in time, his hand bracing against the doorframe as he steadied his balance.

Sophia blinked at him.

He blinked back.

Then he straightened. "Sister-in-law, you could at least take pity on me and say sorry," he told her, a small smile on his face.

Sophia blinked. "Oh... sorry."

Ronan shook his head. "That wasn’t sincere in the slightest. Anyway, Tobias is awake."

Sophia smiled. "Really?" she asked.

Ronan nodded.

"Yeah. He woke up not too long ago," he said. "Orion’s with him."

Something in her chest eased at that.

Relief settled in quickly, though it didn’t completely erase the tension she still felt.

Ronan tilted his head slightly as he looked at her.

"I came to check on you," he added. "See if you were still asleep on Orion’s orders."

Sophia didn’t say anything for a second, but something flickered across her expression.

She turned away from the thought before it could settle too deeply.

"I’m awake now," she said.

Ronan nodded.

"Clearly."

There was a hint of amusement in his tone, but he didn’t push it.

"Come on," he added. "Let’s go."

Sophia stepped out of the room, and they began walking down the hallway together.

Sophia folded her hands as they walked.

"...Is he okay?" she asked after a moment.

Ronan glanced at her.

"Orion or Tobias?" he asked.

"I know Tobias is okay. I’m asking about Orion," she said.

Ronan exhaled lightly.

"He’s fine," he said. "At least from what I saw. The healers did say there was nothing wrong with him."

Sophia didn’t respond immediately.

Her gaze lowered slightly. The healers had no idea why Orion had collapsed when he was in perfect health.

There was no injury, no infection, no fever he had left unnoticed, no poison he had ingested. He was perfectly okay.

And yet he had collapsed. The healers could only treat the fever, but even that was suspicious because there had to be a reason for the fever after all, yet there was no hint when it came to Orion.

Marta had suggested they observe him since they couldn’t actually point out what was wrong with him.

Sophia had hated that answer. She would have preferred a more direct one. Maybe something along the lines of Orion being stubborn and overworking himself, hence why he collapsed—but there was none of that.

She had sat beside him and prayed to the goddess. She wasn’t even sure when it started or how long she did it.

But she had asked the goddess to at least overlook Orion’s constant disrespect.

To give him a chance.

To not take him away because of something stupid he had said or done.

Her lips pressed together slightly.

She had fallen asleep at some point.

She didn’t remember when or even how.

Annoyance flickered beneath the concern. He should have at least woken her up, but he did nothing and instead chose to see Tobias.

The least he could do was wake her so she could know he was not in danger, or maybe even leave a note. But there was nothing.

She exhaled slowly, pushing the thought aside as they continued walking.

The corridor leading to Tobias’ room came into view.

Sophia’s steps slowed just slightly when a sharp sound cut through the quiet.

It sounded like someone had been hit... hard.

Both she and Ronan froze.

Their heads turned toward each other at the same time.

Wide eyes met wide eyes.

Then, without a word, they moved.

They pushed the door open and stepped inside.

The scene in front of them stilled them instantly.

Orion stood off to the side, his posture rigid, his eyes wide in clear surprise.

Sophia followed his line of sight.

Sam stood in front of Tobias.

Her chest rose and fell heavily, her breathing uneven.

Her hand was still suspended slightly in the air, as though she hadn’t fully registered what she had just done.

Tobias’ head was turned to the side.

A red mark was already forming on his cheek.

For a moment, no one spoke.

Then Tobias turned his head back slowly.

His expression was calm.

"...I probably deserved that," he muttered.

Sam let out a sharp breath.

"Are you a fool?" she demanded.

Her voice shook as she spoke.

"Do you have any idea what you did?" she continued. "Why didn’t you think to come back to the pack and ask for help?"

Tobias opened his mouth to respond, but she didn’t give him the chance.

"Instead, you decided to be stupid and go to the west yourself?" she snapped. "You even infiltrated the Bloodmoon Pack? Are you mad?"

Her voice rose with each word.

"Did you not think about what could have happened to you?" she demanded. "Did you not for one moment pause to think about what it was you were getting yourself into?"

Tobias tried again.

"Sam—"

But then he stopped when he saw the tears pouring down her face.

Tobias froze.

His eyes widened slightly, the calm slipping as he stood up from the bed in panic.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, alarmed. "You never cry."

"It’s because of you. It’s because you were so stupid as to not c...consider... fuck!" she said as she tried and failed to wipe the tears away.

Tobias pulled her into his arms. A part of him was actually glad that he could evoke such emotions in her.

He shouldn’t be glad, he knew that, but he couldn’t help it. Sam never let herself be vulnerable, especially in front of him.

Orion shifted slightly.

Then, without drawing attention, he moved toward the door.

He passed by Sophia and Ronan, gesturing subtly with his head for them to leave. It would be better to give them some quiet time after all.

They understood immediately.

None of them said anything.

They stepped out quietly, closing the door behind them.

The hallway felt colder somehow.

Or maybe it was just the contrast.

Sophia exhaled slowly.

Then she turned to Orion.

Her expression hardened slightly.

"I see you’re awake," she told him.

Orion turned to Ronan, who shook his head, then turned back to Sophia. Her tone was not filled with warmth at all.

"Um..." he cleared his throat. "Yes?"

"And I wasn’t important enough for you to wake me?" she asked him.