Chapter 319: Lessons She Refused to Learn

Orion gave her a bored look. It was an indifferent gaze that stripped away whatever confidence Holly had left.

She hated that look. He should not be looking at her like that. He should not be gazing at her like she was some insect, like she had no right to be right next to him.

She hated it. She hated the look, but she also had to answer him.

Holly cleared her throat, straightening her shoulders as if that might restore some of her dignity. "Even if I haven’t passed the placement test," she said carefully, "I also haven’t been training as long as the others have."

She lifted her chin. "That matters."

Orion chuckled.

"But you’ve been training longer than Joren."

"That doesn’t matter," she told him.

"Do you hear yourself?" he asked, his head tilting slightly.

She opened her mouth to respond, irritation flashing across her face—but he didn’t let her speak.

"That argument contradicts itself," Orion continued calmly. "You say you’re better than them, yet you excuse your behavior by claiming you haven’t trained as long as they have. And then, for those you’ve trained longer than, you dismiss them as irrelevant."

His gaze sharpened. "You don’t get to use time as both a shield and a weapon when it suits you."

Holly’s jaw tightened.

"Just because others have trained longer than you," Orion went on, "does not make them lesser than you. It does not mean they don’t deserve to teach you. And it certainly doesn’t give you the right to belittle them."

He leaned back slightly, folding his arms. "One of the first things taught at the training grounds is cooperation, support, and trust."

The room was quiet. Even the wind outside seemed muted.

"Sometimes," Orion said, "hunting teams are formed during trainee years—before anyone has even passed the placement test. Trainees rely on each other at the training grounds. They watch each other’s backs. They correct mistakes. They learn together. They work with people who best suit them, developing skills that will help them when they finally become the hunters—or guards or warriors—they wish to be."

His eyes never left Holly as he spoke, and she noticed just how beautiful those eyes were.

"You," he said evenly, "are the only one who hasn’t been fully involved."

Her brows knit together. "That’s not—"

"It is," he interrupted.

He didn’t want her to finish her statement because he was already sensing the lie before she could even say it fully.

"The others train with different people constantly," Orion continued. "Axe bearers spar with archers. Shortsword fighters spar with spear users. Longsword users go against axe bearers. Everyone pushes themselves. Everyone learns from someone else. Everyone tries to understand different weapons, to see what differs from their own."

He gestured vaguely toward Nia, Laia, and Joren. "They are willing to improve. Willing to be corrected. Willing to admit when they don’t know something. And willing to learn from each other."

Holly scoffed. "And you think that makes them better than me?"

Orion’s expression didn’t change. "According to the reports we’ve received this past week," he said, "yes."

That finally rattled her.

"The people you believe are beneath you," he continued, his voice steady, "are currently better fighters than you are."

Holly bristled. "That’s not true."

Orion winced. "Control your words, Holly. There’s only so many lies I can take."

She swallowed nervously before she continued. "I almost pushed you out of the circle during the test the last time." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Orion smiled faintly.

"Right now," he said, "any trainee here could do that."

Her eyes widened slightly.

"And besides," he added, "I wasn’t fighting at full strength."

The silence that followed was thick.

Holly’s hands curled into fists at her sides. "Are... are you saying this to humiliate me because of what happened?"

"No," Orion replied. "I’m saying it because it’s true."

He leaned forward then, resting his forearms on the desk. "You weren’t summoned here just because what you did was wrong. Normally, I wouldn’t even involve myself in this, but I needed to make something clear to you. You were summoned because you threatened a member of this pack."

Holly flinched. "See, Orion, like you said, it’s not—"

"You will let me speak, and you will listen to me, Holly, before you speak," he told her.

She paused in shock, then nodded.

"We’ve all been threatened our entire lives," Orion said. "By enemies—namely the Enclave. You were unfortunate enough to witness what that did to us as a pack. We are threatened by the fucking weather in this place and by the beasts that surround our borders. We are threatened every day of our lives, and we cope with it and make the best of what we have. What we do not do is turn that violence inward."

His voice hardened. "We do not threaten each other."

"Everyone here," he continued, "is supposed to stand for one another. We fight with each other—not against each other. This"—he gestured sharply—"is not what members of the Nightshade pack do."

Holly swallowed.

"Gossip," Orion said, "I can tolerate. Immaturity, I can tolerate. But intimidation? Violence between trainees?" His eyes darkened. "That I will not overlook."

He turned slightly, pacing once before facing her again. "Especially when the person doing the belittling has nothing to be proud of yet."

The words stung. He knew they would.

"You haven’t passed the placement test," Orion said calmly. "You haven’t proven yourself in the field. You haven’t shown that you can work as part of a team. And yet you carry yourself as though you’re already above everyone else."

Holly’s breathing grew shallow.

"That attitude," he continued, "is dangerous. Not just to others—but to yourself."

"This pack survives because we trust each other," Orion said quietly. "Because we lift each other up. The moment that stops, we fall apart."

He held her gaze, unyielding.

"You have a choice, Holly—one that is your last. One you are not likely to be given again. Learn what it means to be a trainee and a member of this pack, or you can kiss your days as a trainee goodbye," he told her firmly.