Chapter 684: The Blame Game

Orion nodded, though his gaze remained fixed on Sophia.

"Are you calm now?" he asked softly.

Sophia nodded faintly.

Her breathing had steadied compared to before, but Orion could still see the remnants of panic lingering in her expression. Her fingers were slightly curled against her lap, tense in a way that told him she was still trying to keep herself together, but she was calm now.

He rubbed a hand down his face and leaned against the table.

"Fuck this entire situation," he muttered under his breath. "And fuck Victoria for causing it in the first place."

Then after a brief pause, he added bitterly, "And the goddess too while we’re at it for throwing us into this mess."

Lysander immediately reached over and hit him lightly on the arm.

"Do not curse the goddess, brother," he said.

Orion did not reply to that.

Instead, he exhaled slowly. The noise outside had dulled somewhat compared to earlier, but it was still there. Voices drifted through the walls in waves, sometimes louder, sometimes quieter, but always present. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"We need to look for a way to quell public unrest," Orion said after a moment. "I already told them I would explain everything. I told them they would get answers, but that clearly did not settle anything."

Lysander nodded.

"The crowd is still outside," he said calmly. "Some people left, but more arrived after hearing what was happening. The guards are trying to keep things under control, but it is proving rather difficult."

Sophia lowered her gaze slightly at that.

Lysander leaned back slightly and folded his arms.

"Brynhild is on her way," he said. "Perhaps she will be able to do something about the crowd."

Orion nodded absentmindedly.

"But even if she calms them for now," Lysander continued, "we cannot keep this hidden anymore. They already know enough to become angry. If we continue withholding information, things will only get worse."

Sophia swallowed quietly.

"We need to explain things properly," Lysander said. "Who your mother is. Who you are. Everything."

The room fell quiet briefly after that.

Then Lysander added, "And perhaps if they know you are the Luna foretold, they might be less harsh toward you."

Orion turned toward Sophia immediately.

Sophia frowned at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked him in a soft voice.

Orion stared at her for a moment before replying.

"Because we are talking about you," he said simply. "And you are sitting here with us. There is no way I am not involving you in this conversation. You will get annoyed at me later."

Sophia gave him a look at that.

For the first time since the panic attack, her lips twitched faintly.

She sighed quietly and leaned back slightly in the chair.

"This is hard," she admitted softly.

Orion nodded immediately.

Lysander made a quiet sound of agreement too.

None of them tried to deny it because it was true, and there was nothing easy about this situation.

Sophia had gone from being accepted by the pack to becoming the center of fear and resentment overnight. Even if some people chose to support her eventually, there would still be others who would never separate her from Victoria.

And everyone knew that.

Sophia lowered her gaze to her hands.

"I doubt revealing that I am the Luna foretold will make them stop," she said quietly after a while.

Neither Orion nor Lysander interrupted her.

"Sometimes anger clouds judgment," she continued softly. "And right now they are angry. They would not care because at the end of the day, I still have a relation to Victoria."

Her voice softened further near the end.

"The woman who destroyed their families."

Orion frowned immediately.

"But it is still worth trying, right?" he asked. "We have to do something."

Sophia nodded.

"And I am certain the issue is not only fear," she said. "The pack members are emotional right now. Most of them lost someone during the Enclave attack. Some lost entire families. Others grew up hearing stories about what happened. Victoria became the face of all of it."

"And now they suddenly learn her daughter has been among them all this time," Lysander added. "To them, it feels like betrayal even if logically it is not."

Sophia’s fingers tightened slightly together.

She understood that.

And perhaps that was what hurt the most.

Because she could not even truly blame them for reacting the way they did.

Orion noticed the way her shoulders subtly tensed again and sighed.

"You are overthinking."

Sophia looked at him flatly.

"Shocking?"

Lysander’s lips twitched faintly at that.

Orion stared at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"You know what I mean."

Sophia leaned her head back slightly and stared at the ceiling.

"I just do not want this to become worse because of me," she admitted quietly.

"It already became worse because people cannot control themselves," Orion replied immediately. "That is not your fault."

"But if I was not here—"

"Do not start that," Orion cut in firmly.

Sophia fell silent.

Orion sighed again and rubbed his temple tiredly.

"You belong here," he said. "And before you say anything else, yes, I know what everyone outside is saying."

His voice hardened slightly near the end.

"But I genuinely do not care. Is your brain filled with rocks?"

Sophia stared at him flatly.

"Really?"

"I had to ask," Orion told her. "I have told you before, I will stand by you. I am not going anywhere and it is not your fucking fault anything happened, so stop putting the blame on yourself."

He paused, then shook his head.

"You know what, maybe we should start from there. I am going to say this slowly, shorty. Follow everything I say and listen attentively and please use your brain to comprehend what I am saying..."

"Or..."

"...it is not your fault," Orion said slowly. "Everything that happened is not your fault. If there is anyone to blame, then it should be the fucking goddess and Victoria. So do not play this blame game. You are not at fault."