Chapter 391: When Loyalty Draws the Line I

Orion gave Joren a look. The boy looked anxious and worried.

"Joren, there’s a reason I’m here," Orion told him calmly.

Joren swallowed. Ethan moved up beside him, shoulders squared but eyes shadowed with strain.

"We tried to track Sophia’s scent," Joren said quickly. "Me and Ethan. We picked it up at first. It was strong and clear, like she was in the forest with us. We tracked every place she was and everywhere she moved, but then suddenly, the scent disappeared. It just stopped, like she was not there anymore."

"The trail cut off completely. One minute it was there, and the next it wasn’t," Joren told him.

Orion paused, taking in their words. It wasn’t natural for a scent trail to just disappear like that, especially if one didn’t mask their scent — and he doubted Sophia did. They were taking a test after all. What would be the logic behind her masking it?

"There was this clearing where the trail was strong, but that’s where it stopped. We found something though," Joren continued.

His hand lifted slightly, pointing back toward the treeline where they had come from.

"There were marks where the trail ended, along with residue. Ethan thinks it’s a Trihydra," Joren said.

"Rather than think, I know it is a Trihydra, but I had no idea why one would even be in the testing grounds. This place was scouted thoroughly to ensure that nothing of the sort occurs, and we put measures in place too to make sure they didn’t even get past," Ethan spoke up.

Orion was quiet. This was the second time he’d heard someone talk about a Trihydra in just a few minutes. Could it be that the Trihydra could mask scents now? Were they the ones who had left the body in the forest — but how? Orion was ending up with more questions.

This was something that Ronan and the others had gone into the heart of Nirvana to try to understand. Skylurs and Trihydras were not common around here. They shouldn’t even be able to pass, especially since measures had been put in place — so how was it that they passed through?

A ripple of unease slid through the clearing.

"You are sure it’s a Trihydra?" Caden asked Ethan.

"Like I said, I know it’s one. I know it’s a Trihydra," Ethan replied.

"But how?"

"I don’t know," Ethan replied with a shake of his head. "And if Holly had just fucking helped Sophia, then perhaps she wouldn’t be missing. But she saved herself and left her to rot," Ethan said in barely restrained anger.

"It’s not my fault. She had it coming after all. She’s a demon, I am sure of it," Holly told him.

Ethan was this close to hitting Holly, but he restrained himself. She wasn’t his priority right now after all.

"We found something else too. The charms we were given before we started the test — Sophia’s was buried in the snow," Joren told Orion.

Orion turned sharply back toward Holly.

She was still bound, eyes gleaming with something that bordered on satisfaction.

"Soon enough, you guys will see that I’m— mmmph!"

Without a word, Orion grabbed the bandage again and shoved it back over her mouth, tying it tight enough to silence any sound.

Her eyes flared with furious protest, but he didn’t spare her a glance.

He turned back to Joren.

"Sophia isn’t here in this section of the forest," Orion said evenly. "I can’t feel her nearby."

Joren’s face drained of color.

"What?" His voice cracked. "Is she— is she okay?"

"As far as I can tell," Orion said quietly, "she’s alive."

Joren sighed. "But where is she?" he asked Orion.

"That’s what I’m going to find out," Orion told him.

If Holly had left Sophia to face a Trihydra by herself, then he could only hope that Sophia was okay and without injury — because if she wasn’t, he was going to take sadistic pleasure in destroying Holly piece by piece.

Ethan stepped forward then, head bowing respectfully. "Alpha Orion... I’m sorry. I should have noticed something was wrong. I was one of the examiners. I should have caught the signs that a Trihydra was present."

Orion waved him off. "Sometimes things slip past even the sharpest eyes. This isn’t on you."

Ethan straightened, gratitude flickering across his face, though worry still lingered.

Orion turned toward the gathered examiners and trainees.

"Make sure to place Holly in the dungeon and make sure she doesn’t leave until I come back with Sophia intact," Orion told the examiners. "Hand her off to Caspian when you get to the pack compound." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

They nodded. Then to the trainees, he said:

"You’re all returning to the compound," he commanded. "Immediately."

Most of them nodded without hesitation, but there was that group that didn’t nod in agreement. They instead stayed out, just staring back at Orion, some with hands folded across their chests.

Those on Sophia’s team who had fought alongside her under her leadership. And her group of friends who would do anything to make sure she was safe.

Cat crossed her arms. "The only way I’m going to stay in the pack compound is if I get to make sure that Holly doesn’t leave the dungeon."

Orion raised a brow at that. He had not been expecting that — and from Cat no less.

She jerked her chin toward Holly. "I’ll only stay if it’s to watch over the one who calls one of my best friends a demon, and that is only because I want to be one of the first people who can hit her if I find out that Sophia is hurt or anything. But other than that, I’d actually prefer going with you to find Sophia. I have things to tell her after all."

Nia nodded instantly. "Same here."

Joren stepped closer to Orion. "I’m coming with you, please."

Dren stepped forward. He too was worried about Sophia, and after hearing about the Trihydra, that worry increased. Sophia was his sword sister after all. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t sworn anything yet. She was his sister all the same, and he’d be damned if he just stepped back and didn’t do anything to help find her.

"I’ll go too. I’m not staying back even if it’s to watch over the one who claims Sophia is a demon," Dren said.