Chapter 315: Marta’s Lecture

Morning arrived quietly.

The snow outside continued its endless fall, pale and constant, muting the world beyond the medical facility into something soft and distant. The room itself was warm, faintly scented with dried herbs and clean linen, and for a few precious moments, everything felt still.

Orion woke first.

He lay on his side, careful not to move too much, watching Sophia sleep. Her breathing was slow and even; her face was relaxed.

She slept facing up so as not to exert pain on her body, and that was only at Orion’s insistence.

The small bed wasn’t comfortable for Orion, but it was one of the most peaceful sleeps he’d had in the past few days.

She looked... better, and that was enough for him. She didn’t look troubled.

That alone eased something tight in his chest.

He was just starting to shift away from the bed when there was a soft knock at the door.

Orion froze.

Then another knock followed, firmer this time.

He sighed quietly and stood, pulling on his tunic and smoothing it down before crossing the room. He opened the door just enough to step into the hallway—

And came face to face with Marta.

She didn’t say a word.

She simply looked at him.

Her gaze was slow, assessing, sharp enough that Orion felt like she could see straight through him and into the room behind him. Her eyes flicked to the bite on his neck, and her expression shifted—but she didn’t say anything yet.

Orion offered her a small, polite smile.

"Morning," he said.

Marta held his gaze for a long moment.

Then she stepped past him without comment and entered the room.

Orion shut the door behind her softly.

Sophia stirred just as Marta approached the bed.

"Marta?" she murmured sleepily, blinking up at her.

"Yes, yes, it’s me," Marta replied. "Good morning."

Sophia pushed herself up slightly, wincing just a bit before settling back against the pillow. "Morning."

Marta reached out, placing the back of her hand gently against Sophia’s forehead.

She frowned immediately.

Then she checked Sophia’s pulse.

Her frown deepened.

"Hm," Marta muttered.

Sophia swallowed. "That doesn’t sound good."

Marta shot her a look. "Your temperature is higher than it was yesterday."

Orion stiffened. "Higher?"

"Yes," Marta said flatly. "Not dangerously so, but enough to tell me that someone may have pushed herself beyond the point where she was supposed to."

Her gaze slid—slow and deliberate—from Sophia to Orion.

Marta straightened and crossed her arms. "I told you to take it easy. I told you that you haven’t recovered yet, but you didn’t listen to me, did you?"

Sophia’s face began to heat immediately.

"You are still recovering, Sophia. Your body needs rest. It didn’t need too much work or stress, and you stressed yourself by doing..." Marta waved her hand vaguely. "...whatever sexual tango you two did."

Orion tried—and failed—to stifle a laugh.

Marta glared at him. "This is not funny. Her body needs to heal. You shouldn’t be pressuring her to have sex with you. I know it’s a requirement. I once had a husband who was all over me, but that doesn’t mean you should stress her body when it’s still recovering. You shouldn’t do that."

"I know," Marta continued, turning to Sophia now. "I know you’re mated. I know the bond makes it difficult to keep your hands off each other. I know Orion is very attentive and very persistent. But that doesn’t mean you should give in just because he asks you to."

Orion cleared his throat. He was not the one who had pressured Sophia; instead, she was the one who had seduced him. Marta had just assumed it was him.

Marta paced slowly at the foot of the bed, her boots soft against the floor. "Do you have any idea what happens when a patient pushes themselves while healing? Fevers spike. Pain returns. Wounds reopen. The body rebels. You’ve been through enough hurt and should be resting to recover your energy, not having sex with each other." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Technically," Orion spoke up, "we were not ha—"

"I’m sorry, Marta. Next time we’ll be careful," Sophia said immediately, interrupting Orion.

She gave him a glare because she knew he was about to tell Marta that they’d only had oral sex, and that would just worsen the mortification she felt.

Orion’s lips twitched, but then he turned to Marta. "Is she in danger? Can she leave the medical facility today?"

Marta glanced at him. "She’s not in any danger, and yes, she can leave today—but for the goddess’ sake, listen to me and don’t make her overexert herself, okay?"

Orion nodded. "Yes, ma’am."

"And let me be very clear," Marta continued, turning back to Sophia. "I am not saying you cannot be close. I am saying you cannot rush your recovery because you want to be with your mate. Desire does not heal wounds."

Sophia swallowed hard. "I understand."

"Do you?" Marta asked.

Sophia nodded again. "Yes."

Marta sighed. "Good. Because if this happens again, I will not be so lenient."

She checked Sophia one last time, then stepped back, rubbing her temples. "Honestly. The pair of you."

Sophia peeked at Orion from beneath her lashes, clearly wishing the bed would swallow her whole, while Orion found the whole situation amusing.

Marta looked back at Sophia—really looked at her this time—and her expression softened despite herself.

She closed the distance between them and gave Sophia a hug, which Sophia returned.

The hug was warm, and Sophia leaned into it.

"I’m so glad you’re back, child. I know I already said this before, but I just want you to know again—I’m glad you’re back. And no matter what happens, you’ll always have a home here, okay?" she asked Sophia.

Sophia nodded as they released each other.

Marta straightened. "Alright, it’s time for me to go. Just make sure next time you two decide to do the tango, you don’t leave that big of an evidence," she said, gesturing at the hickey on Orion’s neck.

Sophia grinned at her, mortification forgotten all of a sudden.

"That may have been on purpose, so a specific person knows," Sophia said.

Marta threw her head back and laughed loudly.

"I like you," she said as she walked out of the room.

Orion gave Sophia a smile once it was just the two of them alone.

"Time to go home."

"When you say home... do you mean mine or yours?" she asked with a smirk.