Chapter 683: The Voice Through the Noise

The thing about rumors was that people could hardly point out who started them. Everyone always had someone who told them, who heard it from someone else, who heard it from someone else, and so on. There was hardly ever any true source.

People only knew it existed. They only knew they had heard it, and that was how it usually was for the Nightshade Pack. No one could pinpoint who started it, or rather perhaps they could, but that would take too much time.

And rather than trying to find out who started the rumor, it would be better to try to curtail it and put a stop to it. That was the situation of the Nightshade Pack now.

The previous night, Orion had finally convinced Sophia to come back to his home, and he had done everything he could to get her mind off the things that had happened, but that proved to be a headache because it was one thing to try to tell someone something did not matter and it was another for the brain to actually acknowledge the fact and not dwell on it.

But that was not the issue now.

The issue was the fact that pack members were gathered outside Sophia’s home, calling her out. And that was how Orion and Sophia found out that the whole pack knew who Sophia’s mother was.

"Come out, you scum! Come out and face us!"

"Show your face!"

"Go back where you came from! Better still go back to your filthy mother!"

"I’ll sell you! Since we can’t get your mother, we’ll get you instead!"

Guards were outside trying to contain the mess that was happening, but even they looked overwhelmed by the sheer number of people gathered.

Orion looked at Sophia and she looked like her soul had been taken away. She looked pale, her lips trembling slightly, and her breathing picked up as she began palpitating.

Orion rushed to her immediately, trying to get her to breathe, but it was not working.

Given the fact that Sophia’s home was next door, the scent was confusing, and the crowd thought she was in her home when she was actually in Orion’s. Orion’s mind raced as he tried to figure out what to do, but nothing came to him except the growing panic at the sight of her.

"Fuck!" he cursed under his breath.

"Shorty, breathe, please," he said to her, his voice softer now, trying to steady her, but nothing he said was helping.

Sophia tried and failed to get her breathing under control.

"Deep breaths," Orion said again. "Do it slowly."

He tried again, adjusting his tone, softening it further, guiding her as best as he could, but no matter what he did, she was not breathing freely.

Her chest rose too fast, too uneven, and her fingers curled tightly into themselves as though she was trying to anchor herself to something that was no longer there.

Orion placed her on a chair carefully and then walked outside.

Immediately he stepped out, someone pointed at him, shouting that he was there, and the questions began pouring in.

"Do you know who Sophia is?!"

"Alpha Orion, she’s your mate, is she not?!"

"Is it true she’s Victoria’s daughter?!"

"Are you protecting her?!"

The noise rose all at once, voices overlapping, anger and fear blending into something volatile.

Orion ignored them, his gaze scanning for a guard when he locked eyes with Dren.

"Get Lysander!" he barked at the boy.

Dren’s eyes widened and he nodded immediately before turning and running toward the medical facility as fast as he could.

Orion then turned back to the crowd.

"I’ll answer the questions you have, but not now," he said, his voice firm, carrying authority even without him raising it. "And this is not the way to get answers. It would be better if you all go home. Soon, everything will be answered."

"But is Sophia really Victoria’s daughter?!" someone shouted.

"I heard you know! Are you trying to protect the enemy? Is that it?!"

"Alpha Orion!"

They kept calling him, but Orion ignored them and walked back into the house.

Sophia looked even paler than before.

"Shorty, come on. You are stronger than this. Follow my voice, listen to me," he said softly as he knelt in front of her.

Sophia’s eyes were unsettled, moving constantly as though she was trying to find something to hold on to and failing.

"Shorty," Orion called again as he took her hand in his.

He rubbed the pulsing vein there gently, grounding her the only way he knew how.

"Don’t do this. Listen to me," he said softly. "Breathe, shorty. Listen to my voice."

It sounded muffled in Sophia’s ears. All she could hear were her thoughts.

She was the reason this was happening.

She was going to leave.

She would have to leave.

They did not want her.

No one wanted her.

She did not belong after all.

It was all her fault.

The voices outside only made it worse, even though they sounded distant now, like echoes carried through water. The insults, the anger, the hatred—they wrapped around her thoughts and tightened.

Her chest felt tight.

She tried to fight it, tried to pull herself back, but she was drowning in the negative thoughts, sinking too fast to do anything about it.

"...shorty, I need you with me. I... I need you. It’s not your fault. This is not your fault. Breathe with me..."

Everything paused. Sophia knew that voice.

Someone needed her.

That thought cut through everything else. The fog in her mind shifted slightly.

Not just one person though, the family she now had.

"Breathe with me, shorty."

This time she heard it more clearly.

Another presence entered the house, and even through the haze in her mind, she recognized it.

She blinked, and her vision cleared slightly.

Lysander was in front of her now, kneeling, his expression focused, calm in a way that contrasted sharply with the chaos around them.

"Look at me, Sophia," he said, his voice steady, controlled. "Follow my breathing." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

Orion shifted slightly to give him space but did not let go of her hand.

Lysander inhaled slowly, deliberately, exaggerating the motion so she could follow it.

"In... slowly," he said.

Sophia’s breath hitched, uneven, but she tried.

"And out."

Her chest trembled, but the breath left her in a shaky exhale.

"That’s it," Lysander said. "Again."

He did not rush her.

He did not panic.

He simply stayed there, guiding her through each breath, each moment, until the rhythm began to settle.

Orion watched closely, his jaw tight, his grip on her hand firm but not overwhelming.

Sophia followed.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

It was slow at first, uneven, fragile.

But it was something.

Outside, the noise had not died down, but the guards had begun pushing the crowd back, trying to create distance, trying to restore order.

Inside, the world had narrowed to just the three of them.

Sophia’s breathing gradually steadied, though her hands still trembled slightly.

"There you go," Lysander murmured. "You’re doing well."

Sophia swallowed, her throat dry, her chest still aching from the strain.

Orion let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding.

"She’s stabilizing," Lysander said quietly to him.

Orion nodded, though his gaze never left Sophia.

"You scared me," he said under his breath.

Sophia blinked slowly, her vision clearer now, though her eyes still looked distant, like she had not fully come back yet.

"I’m... sorry," she whispered.

Orion shook his head immediately.

"Don’t," he said. "Don’t apologize for this."

Lysander stood after a moment, glancing toward the door.

"The crowd is not leaving anytime soon," he said. "This is going to get worse before it gets better."