Chapter 681: What the Silence Carried

"Orion," Madam Tyler called out. "Raise your head."

Orion did as he was told. Madam Tyler and Caspian both studied him for a moment, as though weighing the sincerity behind his words rather than just hearing them.

"How long have you known who her mother is?" Caspian asked.

"A short while," Orion replied.

Madam Tyler exhaled slowly.

"You know," she began, voice quieter now, "after learning that Sophia had been abused by her mother, I found myself wondering what kind of woman she truly was. And when Sophia told us she was from the Blood Moon Pack, I immediately suspected it. Victoria."

Her expression darkened slightly.

"I have never had the displeasure of meeting anyone as vicious and wicked as her."

Her gaze shifted fully to Orion.

"And I am not angry at Sophia," she continued. "If we are being honest, she was only a child when the Enclave attack happened. What could she have known? And as Lysander and Brynhild explained, her memory loss was likely her mind protecting her from what she endured."

She paused briefly, her voice tightening.

"And now that I think about it... everything aligns. The plague being tied to black magic and Victoria. The marks Sophia bore when she first arrived here that suggested exposure to dark magic. It all makes sense now."

Orion remained silent as she spoke.

"But understanding something and restricting one’s emotions are two different matters," Madam Tyler added. "Sophia looks nothing like Victoria. Her heart is not like hers. She would rather take the burden of pain herself than allow anyone else to suffer."

Caspian gave a low sound of agreement and nodded.

"She has changed," he said. "I see her as family. It is difficult to reconcile that the woman who destroyed our pack is her mother. But I also know Sophia is not responsible for any of it. So you do not need to beg us, Orion."

Madam Tyler nodded once.

"We had already planned to meet with Sophia privately," she said. "To understand what she went through."

Her gaze sharpened slightly.

"And there is something you said earlier. That if it was not for Sophia, we would not be alive. I would like to understand that."

Orion hesitated briefly, then replied.

"Rather than me explaining it," he said, "it would be better if you heard it from Sophia herself."

Madam Tyler and Caspian exchanged a look, then both nodded.

---

Meanwhile, Sophia was at home.

She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the dimming fire in the hearth. The flames had weakened, curling lower as the wood burned out. She knew she should add more, but she could not bring herself to move.

She did not want to see Orion.

Not after everything that had happened.

Not after the council.

Not after the way Daniel had looked at her.

Not after Ronan had argued with his father because of her.

It all felt too heavy, like every truth she had carried inside her had finally cracked open and spilled into places she could no longer contain.

Her chest tightened.

Why did it have to be her?

Why did her mother have to be Victoria?

Why couldn’t she have come from somewhere simple? Somewhere normal? Somewhere she could have existed without becoming a problem for everyone else?

She pressed her fingers against her lap, trembling slightly.

But there were no answers.

There never had been.

And there was still more to come.

The worst part was not what had already happened. It was what was to come.

Because the whole pack did not know yet.

Only a few did.

And even they were struggling.

What would happen when everyone knew?

What would happen when the full truth was laid bare?

A breath escaped her unevenly.

She felt small under it all. Not physically—but in a way that made her feel like she was being pulled apart by expectations she never agreed to carry.

Why her?

Why did she have to carry everyone’s pain?

Why did she have to be the bridge between something she did not create and something she could not escape?

Her throat tightened.

Why couldn’t she just be... herself?

The fire finally dipped lower, its glow thinning into embers.

Sophia did not move.

Time passed in a way she could not measure.

Only when Neoma stirred faintly did she blink back into awareness.

A knock came at the door.

Sophia exhaled slowly and stood.

She walked through the house, her steps slower than usual. It had been a long time since she stayed here consistently; most of her time had been spent at Orion’s home recently. Yet stepping through the space now felt strangely distant, as though she no longer fully belonged in either place.

She reached the door.

She already knew who was there.

And she already knew this conversation was unavoidable.

Sophia opened it.

Madam Tyler stood at the front. Behind her were Mary, Caspian, and Eldric.

Daniel was not among them.

Something in her chest loosened slightly at that absence, though she immediately felt guilty for it.

She stepped aside and opened the door wider, silently inviting them in.

None of them moved immediately.

Instead, Madam Tyler walked forward first.

Before Sophia could speak, the older woman gently reached up and wiped away a faint tear track on Sophia’s cheek.

Sophia froze.

She had not even realized she had been crying.

She blinked once, then quickly raised a hand to her face as if confirming it for herself.

"I did not—" she started.

"It is fine," Madam Tyler said softly.

The others stepped inside.

The room felt smaller with all of them present, though no one had moved far.

Sophia closed the door behind them and turned back, her hands clasping together in front of her.

"Um... I—" she began.

Mary interrupted her immediately.

"I was planning to come alone," she said. "But these three already had plans too. So I am going to speak for all of us. Tell us your story."

Sophia hesitated.

"Would it even change anything?" she asked quietly.

Caspian responded gently.

"We will not know until we hear everything," he said.

Silence settled again.

Sophia took a slow breath.

Then she nodded.

And she began.