Chapter 618: The Weight of What Was Remembered

Chapter 617: The Weight of What Was Remembered

Back At The Nightshade Pack

Orion and his friends were in Lysander and Brynhild’s home.

Tobias held Raina in his arms. She took to him instantly, cooing softly, and normally they would have made a joke about how Tobias was also a baby whisperer, but given the mood, no one said anything.

Brynhild sat on a chair while Lysander and Ronan stood, staring at Orion, who was standing too.

Orion sighed and then spoke softly.

"Do you guys remember what happened before we came to Nirvana?" he asked.

"The enclave attack?" Lysander asked, a frown on his face.

"Before the attack happened. What led to it," Orion told them.

"When we went into the Bloodmoon pack?" Ronan asked him.

Orion nodded. "You guys remember I was the last to leave the garden, right? You all waited for me, and you," he said to Ronan, "were getting antsy because our parents would have hit us for sneaking into the pack."

"Would have?" Ronan asked with a scoff. "My mother did."

Orion gave a soft smile. "No one asked me why I was late that day, why I wasted too much time in the garden."

"Because we couldn’t ask. We had to go back to the pack after all," Brynhild said.

Orion nodded. Then he added quietly.

"That was the first day I met Sophia," he said.

Tobias, who had been rocking Raina, paused at the same time, in the same way everyone else in the room paused.

"Orion..." Lysander began.

"You wanted to know what happened when I collapsed yesterday, right?" Orion told Lysander. "I remembered everything that happened that day, the day I met Sophia. She was the one who gave me the plant we used to battle the plague."

"But why would Sophia be there? I mean that now justifies the claim we had that she’s from the West, but I..." Ronan paused.

He was the last to realize it, because from the looks on the others, they had already put it together.

"Who is her mother?" Brynhild asked anyway.

"Victoria," Orion said softly.

There was silence in the house. No one moved or even breathed freely for fear of what would come next.

"No," Ronan said. "You have to be joking, brother. That can’t be. Just say it’s a lie. Tell me you’ve somehow gotten past your inability to tell lies and you’re playing a prank on us."

But even as Ronan said that, he knew Orion was right. He knew that Sophia really was Victoria’s daughter.

That was why the name had sounded so familiar to him. And now everything was making sense. Victoria was the fake Luna, and Sophia was the real one.

She had used Sophia. That was how she even got the title and respect as Luna. She used Sophia’s gifts. But even as he realized that, the fact that Sophia was related to the one person who had ordered the killing of almost everyone in their pack...

"Fuck!"

"Are you certain of this?" Lysander asked Orion.

Orion nodded. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Out of everyone, Brynhild was the only one Orion focused on. She looked lost, her fingers tracing the scar on her face.

"Brynhild..." Orion said softly.

"You know... I didn’t care if she recovered her memories or not. I didn’t care what her memories held because Sophia was just Sophia to me. But this... this isn’t... my sister died because of her mother, Orion. I lost my sight because of the same fucking Victoria..."

"...I know," Orion said to her. "And I’m sorry for that. If I hadn’t convinced you guys to come with me, then that wouldn’t have happened."

The room fell silent again.

"I have a request," Orion said. "I know it’s not my position to request, especially after what I’ve put you guys through, but I have no doubt Sophia is recovering her memories... soon the whole pack will find out who her mother is. And I know that even though everyone suddenly loves her now, there will be different reactions when others find out. Some good. Some bad."

He took a deep breath before he continued. "Can you guys help her, please?" he asked. "Even if everyone stands against her, can you please not stand against her? We were victims of Victoria’s wrath, but Sophia is the biggest victim."

"You just told us who her mother is and now you’re asking something else," Brynhild said.

Her fingers fell from her face as she spoke.

"Honestly, I need time to think about this. I will always support Sophia, but I need time to still sort out my thoughts, Orion," she said.

Ronan was quiet for a while and then he sighed. "The one who killed my family is dead, and the one who ordered their deaths may be related to Sophia, but she’s not my sister-in-law. But that’s the issue, isn’t it?"

Orion nodded. "People will look for the nearest person to pass their hatred onto, and what better person than Sophia, who is related to the enemy."

Ronan exhaled slowly. "I love my sister-in-law like a sister, but like Brynhild said, I’ll need time to sort my thoughts. But you don’t need to beg us, brother. I’m not standing against Sophia. Not at all."

"It’s good the enclave killed my father," Lysander said.

"Really, brother?" Ronan asked him.

But he just shrugged. "I’m more hurt that your parents died than I am sad that my father died. But again, this wasn’t Sophia’s doing, and I reckon there’s more to her memories. Like Orion said, she was the greatest victim. Unlike Ronan and Brynhild, I don’t need to sort out my thoughts. I’m not even sure I have thoughts to sort out."

"And um..." Tobias said softly. "Me too. I hate when people transfer hate, so it’s without a doubt that I’ll support Sophia. And besides, I didn’t know you guys before the attack. I was born here after it, and I only know everything after it. And there’s also the fact that I’ve had the pleasure of dealing with Victoria. The word bitch—and perhaps demon—was probably created specifically for her."

Orion stared at his friends. He had no idea what he had been expecting, but it wasn’t full acceptance like this.

He bowed then. "Thank you."