Chapter 65: The Absent Spirit

Sophia’s boots crunched on the frosted path as she followed Orion back into the pack compound, her waterskin thumping against her hip. The dawn sky glowed gold, casting light on the stone houses with their rune-etched doors, faintly pulsing in the morning air.

Her mind spun with Orion’s revelation, she’d been a white wolf when he found her, yet no wolf spirit stirred within her. Her heart raced, her curiosity clashing with fear. Was her wolf lost just the same way she lost her memory?

She needed answers, just the same way Orion needed answers too.

The compound hummed with early risers, but Sophia barely noticed, her thoughts were a mess.

Orion strode ahead, his brown hair catching the light, his brown eyes focused.

He waved to a guard at the gate, his voice clipped. "Find Eldric. Tell him to meet us at Lysander’s home, now. And if he doesn’t move, tell him I’ll find him myself and make sure to send his mate on a mission that’ll take him weeks to return."

The guard chuckled as he nodded, before darting off, and Sophia hurried to catch up with Orion’s stride. "Why are we going to Lysander’s home and not the medical facility?" She asked him.

"Because he will be at home now. It’s just dawn and besides, Lysander isn’t the only healer we have. He is in charge and is a bit of a perfectionist which is why he’s always there but now that Brynhild needs rest and my stubborn ass left the facility before I was even healed, he will be at home." Orion told her.

"But will he be able to tell me the reason?" She asked him.

Orion shrugged his shoulders. "I don’t know, honestly. We are just going there to see if at all this has something to do with your condition which I suspect it does."

She gave him a nod as she let her own thoughts occupy her head. They reached Lysander’s home, a modest stone structure with ivy creeping up its walls, the air rich with woodsmoke and herbs.

Orion pushed the door open without knocking, stepping into the spacious interior. A gruff voice snapped from within. "Will you fucking knock?"

"You are decent so why are you grumbling?" Orion asked Lysander.

Sophia peeked past him, her eyes adjusting to the warm glow.

Lysander stood by the table, his blonde hair tousled, his blue eyes narrowed in annoyance. His frame was hunched over a mortar and pestle. Brynhild sat by the hearth in a worn wooden chair, a warm cloth draped over her lap, her black skin glowing in the firelight.

"Do you miss me that much?" Brynhild asked Sophia with a smile.

Sophia returned her smile and moved from behind Orion further into the room to give Brynhild a simple hug.

"I have to apologise for my rude husband, he should have given you a chance at the facility before sending you away." Brynhild told Sophia.

"Love, I don’t trust Sophia near my herbs the same way I don’t trust you near them." Lysander said to her, making them laugh.

"I started working at the library though so I’m not offended." Sophia told her.

Orion noticed how Sophia always seemed to smile easily with people like Tobias and Brynhild, even Ronan and the grumpy Lysander but she never smiled at him. It was like he was the bane of her existence and he has never done anything to warrant that reaction from her at least not intentionally.

Brynhild turned to Orion then. "Why are you here together?" She asked him then with a gasp turned to Soohia. "Don’t tell me he’s given up on training you?"

"Not to mention, he brought her at dawn. I’m hardly even awake." Lysander grumbled.

"It’s too early for the lies." Orion muttered.

"Then tell us why you are here with her." Brynhild told him.

Orion crossed his arms, his voice firm. "I will. I’m just waiting for Eldric."

"I’m pretty sure eldric isn’t ready to leave his mate this early in the morning. They’d be going at it like pigs right now." Lysander muttered.

Before Orion could reply, the door groaned open, and Eldric strode in, his gray wool cloak brushing the floor, his green feather earring swaying. His braided hair swung, and his dark brown eyes behind wire-rimmed glasses fixed on Orion with a scowl.

"We would have been going at it like ’pigs’ if someone didn’t threaten to send my husband away if I didn’t show myself." Eldric spat out.

Orion chuckled not the least bit affected by the anger pouring out from Eldric. He clapped his hands together.

"Now that we’re all here, we can get to the issue." He told them.

"This better be good." Eldric grumbled.

Orion ignored him, his tone steady. "It’s about Sophia. She can’t shift."

"What do you mean she can’t shift?" Brynhild asked him.

"Exactly what I said. She can’t shift. She says there’s no wolf spirit, no voice. She doesn’t hear anything at all and there is no other presence within her which isn’t possible because I know she has a wolf spirit. I saw her in wolf form and she shifted in front of me."

Eldric’s scowl deepened, his fingers brushing the green bead at his neck. "That’s not possible. If she was in wolf form, then the bond’s there. She should be able to shift. Maybe she’s just confused?"

Sophia’s jaw dropped, her hands flying up. "I’m right here and I’m not confused! I don’t feel anything! No voice, no instinct! I don’t feel anything at all."

"Are you pulling my legs?" Eldric asked with a deep frown.

Orion groaned, rubbing his temple. "She’s not lying, Eldric. This isn’t a joke."

"But if she shifted before she can do it again." Eldric argued.

Brynhild spoke up. "When did you shift?" she asked Sophia.

"Orion said it was before he brought me to the pack, when he found me. He said I was in wolf form and I shifted in his presence." She told Brynhild.

"Oh."

Lysander leaned against the table, his blonde hair falling into his eyes, his blue gaze thoughtful. "You suspect this might be happening due to her condition?"

"Yes." Sophia and Orion said at the same time.

"And I was thinking maybe Eldric could help. He is knowledgeable so if there is any record of a case like this, someone who isn’t able to shift after being bonded to their wolf?" Orion asked Eldric.

"It could be that this is as a result of your amnesia." Lysander told her. "From what I understand, amnesia blocks out things you’ve lived, places that were familiar so if you are unable to converse with your wolf or even relate with her, then perhaps this is due to your condition."

"Then how do we resolve it?" She asked them.

"The only way..."

"...is to recover your memory." Eldric completed for Lysander.

"Everything?" She asked them and they gave her a nod.

"But what if there’s a reason I lost it before? What if my memories aren’t going to help me?" She asked them.

"I doubt that." Eldric told her. "But if that were the case, then madam Tyler will be able to help, to reconnect you back with the moon goddess but for now, the best way is to recover your memory. And maybe we should start by going back to the shrine."

Sophia swallowed nervously as her plan began to sweat. "Today?" She asked him.

Eldric nodded. "There’s no time to waste."