Chapter 685: The Privilege of a Mate

Silence settled after Orion’s words.

Sophia stared at him for a few seconds as though she was trying to process whether she had actually just been comforted or insulted.

Then finally she spoke.

"Was that your way of encouraging me?" she asked slowly.

Orion nodded without even the slightest trace of shame.

"Yes."

Sophia stared at him in disbelief.

"You are truly an ogre," she informed him. "You just said all that in the harshest way possible."

Orion shrugged carelessly.

"I hated seeing you wallow in blame that was not yours to carry," he replied simply.

Sophia looked at him quietly for a moment before a soft chuckle escaped her lips.

The sound was faint and still carried traces of exhaustion, but it was there.

And Orion immediately relaxed slightly at hearing it.

"You did your job then," Sophia admitted. "Because now I cannot even get sad properly anymore since your words will keep replaying in my head."

Orion’s lips curved slightly.

"I am doing my job as your mate."

Sophia narrowed her eyes at him immediately.

"You being my mate does not mean you can insult me."

Orion blinked once.

"Did I insult you?" he asked her.

Sophia gave him a flat look.

"You indirectly insulted me."

Orion looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding.

"Perhaps that is true," he admitted after a while. "But shorty, I have the privilege considering I am your mate."

Sophia rolled her eyes immediately, but there was a small smile on her face now and the heaviness in her eyes had lessened compared to earlier.

Lysander watched the both of them quietly from where he stood.

And though he said nothing aloud, he admitted to himself that Orion knew exactly what he had been doing.

Orion had never been particularly gentle with comfort.

Even growing up, he had always approached difficult emotions differently from most people. Rather than coddling someone, he dragged them out of whatever dark corner they were sinking into and forced them to look at things logically.

It was rough.

Sometimes irritating.

Sometimes downright infuriating.

But it worked. And it worked spectacularly well with Sophia.

Perhaps that was why they were mates in the first place.

Sophia’s tendency to drown in guilt and Orion’s refusal to let her carry burdens that were not hers balanced each other well.

Lysander exhaled softly through his nose.

The goddess truly did strange things sometimes.

Sophia leaned back further in her chair and rubbed her face lightly.

Outside, the crowd was still loud enough to be heard through the walls, though compared to before, it sounded more distant now.

Perhaps the guards had managed to push them farther back.

Or perhaps exhaustion was beginning to settle in after hours of shouting.

Sophia lowered her hands slowly and stared toward the floor.

Then after a moment, she spoke again.

"What if I promise to give the pack the head of my mother?"

The house immediately fell silent again.

Lysander stared at her.

Even Orion looked momentarily stunned.

Sophia’s expression remained calm despite the heaviness behind her eyes.

Orion’s lips twitched faintly in disbelief. He tried to hold it in, he really did, but then his restraint failed him and laughter escaped.

And it was at that exact moment that the door opened.

Brynhild entered first.

Ronan walked in behind her, Tobias following closely while adjusting his cloak. Mary and Eldric came in not long after them.

The moment they stepped into the room, everyone’s attention shifted toward them.

Ronan’s gaze swept across the room briefly before settling on Orion, who was still laughing.

There was a pause.

Then he spoke slowly.

"Um..." he began cautiously as he looked at Orion. "This was not what I was expecting."

Immediately he said it, Lysander too started laughing, his shoulders shaking as he did.

"What’s going on?" Tobias asked as he removed his cloak.

Sophia stared at them for a while and then she spoke.

"I do not know why they are laughing. I just told them I could offer Victoria’s head to the pack if that will help them know I am on their side and they just started laughing."

There was a beat of silence as Eldric closed the door.

Then they all started laughing.

"I did not say anything funny," Sophia said.

But her words only made them laugh harder.

Even Eldric, who hardly laughed at anything, was chuckling quietly too.

After a while the laughter slowly died down and Sophia folded her arms.

"Alright, tell me why you all were laughing," she said suspiciously.

"It is because of what you said," Orion told her before leaning forward to press a kiss against her cheek.

Sophia stared at him.

"I still do not understand how it was funny though," she muttered.

"It was because of the situation, shorty," Orion explained. "No one was expecting that at all."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh," Ronan said as he dragged a chair over and sat down. "I have to admit, it has been a while since I have been in here."

He sniffed the air dramatically.

"It smells like my sister-in-law," he added.

"I am right here, of course it smells like me," Sophia replied immediately.

Ronan wiggled his brows.

"You know that is not what I am talking about."

Sophia’s cheeks warmed faintly while Orion looked entirely unapologetic.

Mary sighed as she removed her cloak.

"I must admit this was not what I had in mind when I rushed over here this morning."

"I am quite certain this was not what any of us expected," Brynhild added with a small smile. "But I must admit, I prefer this compared to what I was expecting."

Lysander pulled a chair out for her and she sat down.

"We managed to dissolve the mob outside though," Brynhild continued. "So we thought we should come together and find a solution, but it seems Sophia already has one."

She laughed softly again.

"And honestly, it is not such a bad decision," Eldric said as he adjusted his glasses.

Sophia blinked.

"You cannot possibly be serious."

"I am not saying we should actually place Victoria’s severed head in the middle of the pack square," Eldric clarified calmly. "Though admittedly, that would send quite the message."

"Eldric," Mary called with a tired sigh.

"What?" he asked. "I am merely being realistic."