Chapter 74: A Seething Holly, an Irritated Sam

Holly walked briskly across the compound, her boots crunching against the frosted ground. The laughter of children and the echo of Orion’s laugh still clung to her ears. How was he able to laugh so freely with the outsider?

She had seen enough, more than enough. Orion, the Alpha she admired, the man she had thought untouchable, was letting that outsider occupy a space that should never have been hers. Sophia, with her bright eyes and awkward smile, and ugly face that Holly wished she could scratch every time she saw her, had been surrounded by children as though she belonged. And Orion had let it happen.

Holly’s jaw tightened. Every step she took was fueled by the sting of rejection, by the hot twist of envy. She needed to release it, to pour it out somewhere before it consumed her. Without thinking too hard about why, her feet carried her toward the far end of the compound.

Sam’s house stood there, not far from Eldric’s, but separated enough by the cluster of trees that it always felt a little detached from the bustle of pack life. It was a small, simple home, two steps led up to a modest porch, its wooden beams darkened from years of snow and rain. A single lantern flickered faintly inside the window.

Holly raised her hand and knocked once.

When the door opened, Sam’s sharp bluish gray eyes blinked at her in mild surprise. The other woman rarely entertained visitors. Holly knew that. Everyone did. Sam trained hard, fought harder, but kept her distance from the politics, the gossip, the dramas that others tangled themselves in. She had enough on her plate already and didn’t care about the gossip about others.

"What are you doing here?" Sam’s voice was flat.

Holly didn’t answer. She pushed past her with the confidence of someone who thought she owned the world. The scent of herbs and pine clung to Sam’s home, and warmth radiated from a small hearth in the corner. Without a word of greeting, Holly sank into the chair closest to the fire as if it were her own.

"Close the door," she said briskly, not even looking back. "If you don’t, we’ll catch a cold."

Sam’s hand lingered on the doorframe. She considered leaving it wide open out of spite, but with a sigh she swung it shut and leaned against it, her arms crossed. Her wolf growled low inside her chest, restless at the intrusion.

Holly, oblivious, or rather uncaring, leaned back, legs crossed, her eyes flashing. "You wouldn’t believe what I just saw." Holly said and Sam stared at her.

Holly wished until Sam released a sigh and asked her, "What almighty thing did you see?"

"Orion!" She screeched. "And he was with her, the outsider. They were laughing, like she’s been here her whole life. And the children...goddess! The children adore her! They were chanting her name like she belonged with us when she doesn’t."

Sam tilted her head, studying Holly with a mix of boredom and irritation. "The outsider...Sophia you mean? I’ve never met her."

"She’s not worth meeting," Holly snapped. "She doesn’t know our ways. She doesn’t belong here, and yet Orion is letting her run around as if she’s some goddess-sent gift. Can you believe that?"

Sam shrugged one shoulder. "Um...I don’t care. It doesn’t affect me."

That answer only seemed to fuel Holly further. "Of course it affects you! It affects all of us. If Orion can be blinded by her, if he can let her worm her way into his favor, then what does that mean for the rest of us? For those of us who’ve trained, fought, bled for him?"

Sam’s lips pressed into a thin line. For those of us, Holly had said. She didn’t miss the implication, the personal thread of jealousy woven into Holly’s words.

Her wolf, Sirah, stirred again, whispering through her mind.

*She reeks of envy. Can’t you smell it? It’s suffocating*

"I smell it." Sam answered. "And I want her to just leave me alone."

Holly waved her hands as she spoke, her voice rising and falling dramatically. "It’s disgusting. She has no grace, no strength. She doesn’t even look like us, doesn’t move like us. And yet Orion...Orion of all people lets her trail after him like some little shadow. It’s embarrassing for the pack."

"Maybe it’s not embarrassing for him," Sam muttered.

Holly snapped her gaze to her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," Sam said evenly, "maybe Orion doesn’t care what you think."

The words landed like a slap, but Holly only huffed. "You think I’m jealous, don’t you?"

Sam didn’t answer.

"I’m not," Holly continued quickly. "I’m concerned for the pack. For what it means when an outsider, someone who hasn’t earned it, sits at our hearth, speaks to our children, walks beside our Alpha as though she’s equal to him. That’s dangerous. It weakens us."

Sam finally pushed off the door and walked to the table. She poured herself a cup of water, her movements slow, deliberate. Her wolf huffed in her head, demanding quiet, peace. Sam agreed with her.

Holly’s voice grated against the stillness of the room, each word a pebble thrown into calm waters. "Orion’s supposed to be stronger than this. He’s supposed to be above such distractions. But no, he lets her stay. He listens to her. He laughs with her. And everyone else just..just lets it happen."

Sam sipped her water, letting the words wash over her without reaction.

"But from what I’ve heard, she’s gotten recognition from pack members." Sam told her.

Holly scoffed. "Well I don’t recognize her. She doesn’t have my blessing."

"And that’s important because?" Sam asked her.

The other woman blinked at her, as though the question itself were absurd. "Because I will be Orion’s partner. We were together when we were younger and I heard the elders want him to get married."

"And you think he’d want to get married to you?" Sam asked dryly.

"I’m familiar. He would rather go for someone familiar than a starnger." Holly said to her.

Sam snickered. The fact that Holly believed Orion would even want her again after the whole pack knows that he doesn’t want her was absurd.

Sam was about to speak up when someone knocked at her door making her heartbeat skyrocket and her wolf sigh in appreciation because she knew instinctively who was at the door.