Chapter 314: Marks and Meaning

The kiss didn’t soften.

If anything, it deepened—grew heavier, slower, charged with the kind of intimacy that came not from urgency but from familiarity. From knowing exactly how the other would respond.

Orion’s mouth moved against Sophia’s with a quiet hunger, unhurried but certain. His hand slid up her back, firm and warm, anchoring her to him as if she might drift away if he didn’t hold her there.

Sophia sighed into the kiss—and then broke it.

Not because she wanted to stop.

Her lips left his and trailed down his jaw, soft and deliberate. Orion inhaled sharply when she kissed the corner of his mouth, then the line of his jaw, then lower—down his neck, where his pulse jumped beneath her lips.

"Sophia," he murmured, half-warning, half-invitation.

She ignored it.

Her mouth lingered just below his jaw, teeth grazing skin before she bit down. The bite was firm, and Orion knew very well that it was intentional.

Orion let out a surprised chuckle, low in his chest. "Hey—"

She pulled back just enough to look at her work. Orion watched her, lips twitching. She had a satisfied look on her face, and her eyes glinted like she was proud of her work.

He reached up, touching the spot absently. "And what was that for?"

Sophia lifted her chin, unapologetic. "So everyone knows you’re mine."

That wiped the amusement clean off his face—replaced it with something warmer, sharper.

"Everyone already knows that, shorty."

"Mm." She leaned back against the pillow, studying him. "Apparently not everyone."

His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

She hesitated for half a second—just long enough for him to notice—then shrugged. "I heard about your ex."

That did it.

His expression shifted instantly, confusion giving way to understanding—and then to something dangerously flat. "Holly."

"Yes. Holly," Sophia said, voice calm but eyes sharp. "I heard what she pulled at the training grounds. Pestering you. Asking you to train her with a weapon she is bad at using as well."

Orion sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. "And this was from your friends, right? Joren, Nia, and Laia?" he asked her.

"Yes."

"And they told you everything, right? She pestered me, but I wasn’t having it. I tried to give her space, and she just kept pestering me because I told the trainees that if they were not comfortable with their weapons, they were free to change—and she used that against me..."

"You should know my friends are very good gossips, and they told me everything that happened. Everything, including how you didn’t want to train Holly and how you made Nia train her instead. I know all that. I also know that when Rita went to call you that day, Holly was staring at you like she wanted to leave with you, and that she marched out of the training grounds in anger after Laia threatened her not to lay a hand on Nia," she told him.

Orion paused and frowned at her. Was he glad that her friends had told her everything and hadn’t left out any part that would paint him in a bad light? Yes.

But the last part about Holly marching out and Laia threatening her—he wasn’t aware of that. He had no idea something like that had even happened.

"What are you talking about? What do you mean Holly marched out after Laia threatened her not to lay a hand on her sister?" he asked her.

Sophia gave him a small smile. "You’re going to have to ask Nia and Laia about that, but I’ll just tell you the short version. Holly threatened Nia and may have also tried to attack her, but Laia stopped her."

Orion nodded. He had not gotten any information about this from Garron, and that made him frown as well because he couldn’t understand why Garron hadn’t told him. But like Sophia suggested, he was going to ask Nia and Laia about it.

"I don’t like your ex, Orion. I don’t know why she’s still into you even though you broke up a long time ago. It’s like she doesn’t know that we’re together. Or maybe she does and just doesn’t care. It’s annoying," Sophia told him.

"Perhaps she still believes she’s going to be my wife because my last real relationship was with her?" Orion asked with a frown.

"Perhaps?" she asked with an eye roll. "She still believes it, Orion. She believes you belong with her—I’m sure of that."

"I’ll deal with her. I’ll ensure she knows exactly that there’s nothing that can happen between the two of us," he told her.

"That’s if she’ll listen," Sophia replied. "But anyway, maybe once she sees my very beautiful hickey on your neck, she’ll get the message."

He gave a quiet laugh. "The whole pack already knows we’re together. They know we’re mated. The mark always pulsing at our backs is proof."

Sophia’s lips curved faintly. "Seems like Holly’s blind, then."

She leaned forward and pressed her thumb gently against the bite she’d left. "So the mark stays. And you’re not covering it up."

Orion arched a brow. "Bossy."

"Protective," she corrected. "I want everyone to know... specifically Holly."

He studied her for a long moment—then lifted his hand in a mock salute. "Your wish is my command."

She smiled, satisfied.

And then his stomach betrayed him.

The growl was loud enough to echo in the quiet room.

Sophia burst out laughing. "You absolute ogre."

He chuckled, unapologetic. "This is because you tempted me, making me eat dessert first before having a real meal."

Sophia only smiled at him smugly.

He leaned down, pressing a brief kiss to her forehead before standing.

She watched him move around the room, strong and easy despite everything they’d just done. He gathered the plates and bowls from the bedside table and brought them back, setting them carefully between them.

They ate together quietly.

When they finished, Orion leaned back slightly, rubbing his stomach. "I should head home," he said. "I’m exhausted."

Sophia frowned. "Already?"

"I’ve been up since before dawn."

She studied him for a second—then patted the empty space beside her on the bed. "Climb up."

He blinked. "Shorty—"

"You can sleep here," she said, firm but gentle. "Right next to me."

"You’re still hurt. I don’t want to—"

"We just did something that would have hurt me more, Orion. If it’s you sleeping right next to me, then there’s no issue. Come up on the bed. Sleep next to me, you oaf."