Chapter 361: Watching the Storm Gather

Back at the pack compounds, Orion stood with his arms crossed, jaw tight, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.

Daniel noticed immediately.

"Oh no, son," he said dryly. "Get that look off your face."

Orion turned slowly, giving him a glare sharp enough to cut. Daniel only grinned wider, utterly unbothered. It was a joy seeing Orion like this, after all.

Caspian leaned against the railing nearby, one hand braced at his lower back. "I don’t think I’ve ever seen you like this," he said, amused. "Not even when you were dating Holly."

Orion exhaled hard through his nose. "That was a long time ago. And Holly isn’t Sophia."

Daniel barked out a laugh. Caspian joined in, shaking his head.

"True. Holly didn’t challenge you or keep you on your toes like Sophia does," Daniel said, laughing loudly.

Caspian nodded in agreement. "I knew there was a reason I liked Sophia."

Orion didn’t answer them.

He turned sharply toward Garron. "Why is Holly in the same team as Sophia?"

Garron immediately raised both hands in surrender. "It’s not my fault," Garron said at once.

Orion leveled him with a glare.

"Don’t look at me like that," Garron told him. "You know it’s not my fault. We decided before this test that team selections would be based on pure chance. You were there, and you agreed to it. You even encouraged it."

Orion groaned, dragging a hand down his face.

"I didn’t think Holly would be in the same group with her, after all."

Brynhild, who had been listening to the exchange with open amusement, finally laughed. "Calm down," she told him. "Sophia can protect herself."

"I know that," Orion replied immediately. "I know she can. But that doesn’t stop me from worrying." He paused, then added, "And her examiner is Ethan. Goddess tits."

Garron winced slightly, while Caspian hummed in agreement.

"Ethan is strict," he said.

"Strict doesn’t even begin to cover Ethan," Orion went on. "For all we know, he’ll tell them to hunt a Tidebreaker Korrath. Or worse—push them toward something even more dangerous if the opportunity presents itself."

Brynhild waved a dismissive hand. "You should be grateful it’s not Wesley. He would be harder on them than Ethan ever could be. Ethan is strict—extremely so—and he pushes people beyond their limits, but that’s all he does. He has a good heart for doing it."

She sobered slightly. "And if anything does happen, Ethan will protect them. Though from what I’ve seen, those trainees won’t need protecting from their examiners."

Orion sighed, tension easing from his shoulders just a fraction. He nodded once.

Brynhild smiled, already stepping away. "I need to go. I’ll be back before they’re done."

"Go," Orion said. "My niece needs you right now. I’m sure of it."

She smiled at that. "I’ll be back before the trainees return. Maybe I’ll even get some sleep in."

Orion nodded.

She turned and left, boots crunching lightly against the frost-kissed ground.

Orion watched her go, then looked back toward the forest beyond the pack walls.

---

Deep in the forest, Team Six had regrouped beneath a cluster of towering trees. Snow dusted the ground unevenly, broken by patches of dark earth and tangled roots. The air was quiet. To the unsuspecting eye, it would seem peaceful—but everyone who had stayed in Nirvana knew better.

Uther crouched near a fallen log, using a stick to sketch shapes in the snow. "From what I’ve read," he said, "Tidebreaker Korraths usually claim territories near rivers or large bodies of water. They don’t just roam aimlessly."

"They’re ambush predators," Bianca, one of their other teammates, added. She rested her axe against her shoulder, expression thoughtful. "They’re fast, brutal, and smart too."

Joren nodded. "The books say they don’t attack unless they’re certain they can win."

Holly scoffed. "So they’re cowards."

Sophia shook her head. "Perhaps—but it could be more than that."

That earned her a look from Holly, sharp and annoyed, but she said nothing.

Uther straightened slightly. "We need a leader," he said. His gaze shifted to Sophia. "And I think it should be you."

Sophia startled. "Me?"

Bianca nodded firmly. "I agree."

Miles, their last teammate, who was a spear bearer, nodded. "Me too."

Sophia frowned. "That doesn’t make sense. I don’t have more experience than any of you."

"Yes, you do," Bianca replied calmly. "You’ve fought Alpha Orion. He’s a beast himself."

"We’ve all fought him," Sophia told them.

"But you were the only one able to push him out of the ring," Miles added.

Joren grinned. "I vote Sophia. She was the one who came up with the plan when we fought Alpha Orion," he said.

"If you don’t want to take it, then I can take it off your—"

"Sophia is the leader," Joren said sternly, cutting Holly off.

The others murmured in agreement, turning toward Sophia expectantly, while Holly glared at Joren, who paid her no mind.

Sophia felt the weight of their attention settle heavily on her shoulders.

Holly crossed her arms. "Well?" she demanded. "Speak fast. We don’t have all day. Ethan’s task won’t complete itself, and I don’t plan on failing my individual assessment because you’re hesitating."

Sophia took a slow breath.

"I don’t actually have a plan," she said honestly.

There was a beat of silence.

She went on before anyone could interrupt. "Everything I know about Tidebreaker Korraths comes from a book." Sophia faced Holly. "A book given to me by my mate."

Holly stiffened instantly.

Sophia noticed—and didn’t look away.

Orion had spent nights going through the book with her, asking her questions to test her knowledge.

Holly’s jaw tightened, irritation flashing in her eyes, but she said nothing.

Sophia turned back to the group. "The problem is this—knowing something on parchment is not the same as seeing it. Reading about how a Tidebreaker fights isn’t the same as watching one move. Or hunt."

Bianca frowned slightly. "So what are you suggesting?"

Sophia exhaled. "That we observe first."

Joren tilted his head. "Scout it?"

"Something like that," Sophia said. "Instead of rushing in, we should observe one—how it moves, how it hunts."

Uther nodded slowly. "That makes sense. Especially if they really do fight like Skylurs." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Holly rolled her eyes. "And how long do you intend to watch? Until nightfall?"

Sophia met her gaze calmly. "Until we understand what we’re dealing with."

Holly scoffed. "Observation won’t get us points."

"No," Sophia agreed. "But dying won’t either. And besides, don’t expect we’ll be observing without doing anything."