Chapter 322: Matters of Duty and Home

Garron leaned back in his chair the moment the door closed behind the trainees, the tension finally draining from his shoulders. He exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his face.

"Well," he muttered, then looked at Orion. "Should we start making preparations for the placement test?"

Orion, who was still standing near the desk, nodded once. "Yes. There’s no need to delay it anymore."

Garron gave a small nod of agreement, already mentally sorting through schedules. They would need help from some guards and maybe even some hunters since the trainees would be going into the forest. They needed people who had the skills, were used to the forest, and could also help in case things took a turn for the worse. The test would shake things up—but that was exactly what the trainees needed.

With how much the sightings of rare beasts had increased, they needed stronger fighters.

Garrett, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, watched Orion closely. There was a restlessness about him now, an impatience that had nothing to do with work.

"You’re leaving," Garrett said flatly.

Orion didn’t deny it. He grabbed his cloak from the back of his chair and slung it over his arm. "Yes."

Garrett stared at him as if he’d just been personally betrayed. "But... you just got here some minutes ago. I thought you came to work."

"I came to resolve an issue," Orion replied. "It’s resolved."

Garrett’s mouth opened, then closed. He gestured helplessly at the desk. "But... there’s—there’s work to do."

Orion followed his gaze.

The desk was buried.

Stacks of parchment leaned precariously against one another, some rolled, some folded, some weighted down by ink bottles and stone seals. Reports, requisitions, patrol updates, trade ledgers—each one screaming for attention.

Orion sighed deeply. "How does the paperwork always manage to multiply?"

Garrett blinked. "I don’t know."

Before he started working with Orion, he never thought there was much to do in the pack, especially one like theirs that thrived mainly on gossip, but there was always something to be resolved—unlike what he had thought.

Orion reached out and flipped through the top few pages, then let them fall back into place. "We’ll deal with it later."

"Later?" Garrett repeated weakly. "Later when?"

Orion was already halfway to the door. "Some other time."

Garrett turned desperately to Garron as if begging the man to help him.

Garron cleared his throat, stood up, and suddenly found the wall very interesting. "I, uh—I think I need to go."

Garrett stared at him. "You’re abandoning me."

Garron didn’t respond. He simply walked out, leaving Garrett alone with the mountain of work and a growing sense of doom.

Orion reached for the door, but before he could open it, there was a knock.

He paused.

"Come in," he said.

The door creaked open, and a small figure stepped inside.

Orion’s expression softened instantly. "Victor."

The boy beamed, his hair slightly mussed, cheeks pink from the cold. "Morning, Alpha Orion."

Orion smiled at the boy.

He’d seen him around with his friends, but the last time Victor had been in his office was when he had shown Sophia around the pack so she could help with things for the festival. That was how she found her job at the library.

"How are you? It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" Orion asked him.

"I’m fine," Victor said quickly, then added, quieter, "I’m just waiting for my brother to come back. I miss him."

Orion smiled. "He’ll be back soon. He promised, didn’t he?"

Victor nodded eagerly. "He did."

"That means he’ll keep his word."

Victor seemed to relax at that. His brother had gone with Ronan and the others into the heart of Nirvana. Victor knew his brother would come back because he was strong. He had been the one to report the sightings of a Skylur pack in the forest, after all.

Orion straightened. "So," he said, "what brings you here?"

Victor perked up. "Elder Mary sent me to get you."

Orion frowned slightly. "Mary?"

Victor nodded. "She said it’s about what you asked her for."

Orion froze for half a second—then understanding dawned.

"Oh," he said, a smile spreading across his face. "Right. That."

Orion didn’t answer him. He ruffled Victor’s hair gently instead. "Thanks for coming to get me."

Victor grinned. "You’re welcome."

Orion turned to Garrett. "I have something to take care of."

Garrett let out a long, defeated sigh. There was nothing he could do now. Orion really did have something to do.

Orion opened the door. "Don’t worry. Try not to drown."

Garrett just nodded solemnly, as if accepting his fate.

Orion laughed under his breath and stepped out with Victor.

As they walked, Victor glanced up at him.

"I heard about you and Sophia," Victor said casually.

"Oh?" Orion said carefully.

Victor nodded enthusiastically. "I like her."

Orion raised a brow. "You do?"

"She is extremely clumsy, but she’s cool. She’s my friend too," he told Orion.

Orion laughed at that. The way Sophia made friends with people was an art he still didn’t fully understand.

"You made a good choice," Victor told him.

Before Orion could respond, someone called out to Victor. He gave Orion a salute as he ran to meet up with his friends.

Orion watched him go, laughter bubbling up as he shook his head.

He turned and headed toward the smithy. There was only one reason he could think of that would make Mary summon him. Truthfully, he had even forgotten about the fact that he had given her a task a while ago.

He wondered if she was done with it. She had said she was going to be using Skylur fangs, but he didn’t know if she had been able to successfully use them to get what she wanted.

The air around the smithy was warmer, filled with the sounds of metal hitting metal. If Mary was successful in using the Skylur fangs, then Tobias was going to be bringing in a lot more money into the pack because that would be a requested item at the black market—he was sure of it.

Orion entered the smithy and was hit with a blast of heat.

"Looking for Elder Mary?" Brenda, a young apprentice, asked him.

Orion nodded.