Chapter 682: The Weight of What Was Given

The house was quiet.

There was a faint chill in the air where warmth should have been. The fire in the hearth had burned down completely, leaving only dull embers.

Mary sat with wide eyes.

Caspian looked no better, his usual composure shaken in a way he did not bother hiding.

Madam Tyler sat still, her expression unreadable—neither anger nor acceptance, but something suspended between thought and memory.

Eldric was the first to break the silence.

His hand drifted to the green bead hanging from his neck while his other adjusted his glasses.

"How did you survive?" he asked.

Sophia blinked.

"What?" she asked quietly.

Eldric did not look away.

"How did you survive?" he repeated. "I am certain everything you have said is true. And I am certain what you experienced was abuse beyond anything most of us could imagine. But you were only a child when it began. So how did you survive it?"

The question settled heavily in the room.

Sophia hesitated.

She had never really thought about it in those terms.

Her lips parted slightly, then closed again as she tried to find an answer that made sense.

"Maybe... it was Neoma," she said at last. "My wolf. Or maybe I was stronger than I thought I was. I honestly cannot say."

Silence followed her answer.

Madam Tyler stood slowly.

"You are still strong," she said.

Sophia looked up at her.

Madam Tyler’s gaze softened slightly.

"And I am sorry," she added. "For not standing by you from the beginning. I should have understood sooner that a mother like Victoria does not raise children in anything resembling peace."

Caspian exhaled softly.

"It was not a smooth journey," he said. "It was more like a war."

He pushed himself up from his seat as well.

"And I will speak for myself," he continued. "You are the Luna of this pack, and the one foretold. I support you."

Sophia blinked, visibly caught off guard.

"Um... thank you," she said softly.

Caspian and Madam Tyler exchanged a look, then turned toward the door.

Caspian folded his hands behind his back as he walked.

Eldric followed after a moment. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"I should leave as well," he said. "But I understand your story, Sophia. And as annoying as I may be to you at times, I would not wish harm upon you. You have my support."

He gave a small nod and exited.

The room shifted again.

Now only Mary remained seated.

She stared at Sophia for a long moment, her expression tight, as though she was fighting something internal rather than external.

Then she spoke.

"You tried to save us," she said quietly. "You were the one who gave us the herb."

Sophia lowered her gaze.

"I do not know if that counts as saving anyone," she replied softly.

"But it does," Mary said immediately. "Without it, we would not have survived the plague. We would have lost everything."

Her voice cracked slightly.

"You saved me."

Sophia’s throat tightened.

"I only did what I could," she said.

Mary gave a short, breathless laugh.

"And here I was blaming you," she said. "You know, I was affected by the plague too. I only survived because of what you showed Orion. I should have realized it sooner."

She shook her head.

"It was because of you that we had a chance at all. Because of you, people lived. Because of you, Orion is still here. Because of you... I am still standing."

Sophia looked down at her hands.

"I do not think what I did can be called saving," she said quietly.

"It is," Mary insisted. "Even if you find it difficult to accept."

A pause followed.

Then Mary exhaled slowly.

"I knew you before I ever properly met you," Sophia said suddenly.

Mary frowned slightly.

"What?" she asked.

Sophia shook her head.

"We never spoke," she clarified. "We never even met properly. But I knew you."

Mary’s expression softened into confusion.

"How?"

Sophia swallowed.

"The day of the attack," she said, voice quieter now. "My mother made me watch everything."

The room stilled again.

"I saw you," Sophia continued. "I saw you protecting your siblings. I saw you fighting even when it was obvious you could not win."

Mary’s breath caught slightly.

Sophia’s fingers tightened together.

"Alaric and his wife were not the only ones I saw," she said. "But I could not..."

Her voice faltered.

Mary stared at her for a long moment.

Then, unexpectedly, she let out a soft, bitter laugh.

"I looked ridiculous, did I not?" she said.

Sophia looked up quickly.

Mary smiled faintly, though it was heavy with memory.

"I was thin back then. Not as I am now. I could barely hold a sword properly. But I wanted to protect them. I tried anyway."

She looked down at her hands.

"The warriors Victoria sent..." she continued, quieter now. "They enjoyed it. Watching me struggle. They knew killing my siblings in front of me would break something deeper than death alone."

Her voice steadied, but only slightly.

"One of them would have been your age now," she said. "If she had survived."

Silence pressed into the room and then Mary exhaled.

"I remember thinking even then... this is too much for a child. No one should ever carry something like that."

Her hands curled slightly.

"I still resent Victoria," she said. "I resent her for everything. For what she did. For what she called us afterward. Traitors. As if we had chosen any of it."

Her voice broke just slightly at the end.

Sophia’s eyes lowered.

"I am sorry," she said again.

Mary shook her head immediately.

"No," she said. "You do not get to be sorry for that."

Sophia looked up.

Mary’s gaze softened.

"You did not hurt us," she said. "You were not the one who did this. And even then... you tried to stop it."

She stepped closer.

"That is who you are," she continued. "Kind. Frustratingly so. Curious to a fault. And far braver than you realize."

There was a faint pause and then she continued.

"I may have been angry earlier, but I was wrong."

Sophia’s breath trembled slightly.

Mary continued, softer now.

"I am glad I came here today," she said. "Because if I had not... I might have carried that anger longer than I should have. And then regret it."

She reached out slightly, then hesitated.

"I do not usually like this," she added with a faint, awkward smile. "But... can I hug you?"

Sophia nodded.

Mary stepped forward then and pulled her into an embrace.

It was firm, slightly stiff at first, as though unfamiliar.

But it held.