Wake Up, Please

Two more days passed.

And Orion still did not wake up.

The atmosphere within the Nightshade Pack gradually changed.

At first, everyone had remained optimistic. Lysander had assured them that Orion was merely exhausted. Madam Tyler had agreed.

But as the hours stretched into days, optimism slowly gave way to worry.

Sophia hardly left the medical facility anymore.

Her place had become the chair beside Orion’s bed.

The office had practically been moved there as well. Ronan spent most of his day inside the room, bringing reports, signing documents, and holding discussions with Sophia whenever decisions needed to be made.

The room had become the heart of the pack.

Everything happened inside Orion’s room now.

The Alpha himself remained asleep through all of it.

Sophia found herself watching him more often than she listened to the reports.

Every now and then, her gaze drifted toward him.

He looked peaceful.

Far too peaceful, and perhaps that was what frightened her even more.

At one point, she had approached Lysander and begged him to check Orion again, convinced that perhaps he had missed something.

Lysander only obliged to settle her nerves. All of Orion’s symptoms pointed to the fact that he was simply exhausted, but even he had to admit that he did not understand why it was taking days for Orion to regain consciousness.

He told Sophia the same thing he had told her the day Orion had collapsed. He understood her worry; he too was worried. He had met with Madam Tyler before, but she had assured him that Orion really was just exhausted. Perhaps the reason it was taking so much time for him to regain consciousness was because of what had caused it.

Sophia wasn’t satisfied with the answer, but she knew that was the only answer she was going to get.

After everyone departed, she quietly asked Neoma.

But even her wolf assured her Orion was okay. He was just exhausted. Their bond was still alive. But Neoma didn’t know exactly why Orion wasn’t regaining consciousness.

That evening, the medical facility was unusually quiet.

Outside, snow continued falling over the compound.

Sophia sat beside Orion once more.

She tried using her visions to see the future and maybe see him awake, but each attempt ended in failure.

She tried over and over and over again, but the result was the same.

It ended in failure.

She could not see anything about him at all.

Eventually, she opened her eyes with a defeated sigh.

She observed Orion. His chest rose and fell steadily.

He looked exactly as he had looked days ago.

She slowly reached over and took his hand into hers.

It was warm.

Her fingers tightened around his.

“You know…”

She laughed quietly.

“I never realised how noisy you are until now.”

There was no answer.

“I miss hearing you talk. I miss your teasing. I miss your voice, actually. I miss you looking at me. I miss you reaching out for me. I miss you calling me shorty. I fucking miss your kisses, your touches, your embrace. I miss your laugh too. I even miss you saying complete nonsense.”

She laughed weakly as she spoke.

“I didn’t think that was possible.”

Her grip tightened around his hand.

“So…”

She inhaled shakily.

“Please wake up, please.”

She rested her forehead against his hand.

“I don’t care if the first thing you say is something ridiculous or stupid. Just… just say something.”

Her words were met with silence, which wasn’t surprising, though.

“I miss you,” she whispered, her voice shaking as she said it.

“I really…” Her voice broke even more. “…really miss you.”

The room remained still. She held his hand throughout the night, hoping that at least her words reached him, but there was no reply. No sign that he had heard her.

He never opened his eyes.

—

Morning came.

Sophia had fallen asleep sitting beside the bed, her head resting against the mattress, one hand still holding Orion’s.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

Ronan quietly stepped inside carrying several rolled parchments.

He had come, as always, so he and Sophia could go through the reports.

But then he froze.

Orion was awake.

The Alpha was sitting upright against the headboard.

His hair was slightly messy.

His face was pale.

But his eyes…

His eyes were open.

For a brief second, Ronan simply stared.

Relief crashed into him so suddenly that he almost laughed.

He opened his mouth.

Before a single word escaped him, Orion slowly raised one finger to his lips.

Ronan immediately shut his mouth.

Orion smiled faintly before lowering his gaze toward Sophia.

She was still asleep.

Still holding his hand.

Very carefully, Orion reached out with his free hand.

His fingers gently brushed through her hair.

The motion was slow and tender, almost reverent.

Ronan rubbed his eyes just to be sure he wasn’t dreaming and that his best friend really was awake.

But no matter what he did, Orion was still there, his gaze fixed on Sophia.

Ronan pinched himself to be certain. Only when he felt the pain did he admit that this wasn’t a dream.

His brother was awake.

He quietly backed toward the door.

“I’ll… come back later,” he mouthed silently to Orion, who gave a small nod.

Ronan slipped outside without making another sound.

The moment the door closed behind him, he took off running.

“Lysander!” he called once he was out of earshot. “Brother!”

He found Lysander in the lobby, his face scrunched up in a frown.

“Ronan, surely you know you can’t be this loud in the—”

“He’s awake.”

Lysander blinked.

“What?”

“Orion is awake, brother,” Ronan said.

Lysander immediately took off the apron he had on and removed his gloves.

He turned to a trainee.

“Find my wife, Tobias, and the other members of the council.”

The young man nodded before taking off at a run.

Lysander and Ronan walked back to the room where Orion was, but then they froze when they heard sobbing.

It was a woman’s voice.

It sounded broken and incoherent too.

“…I thought… I… I thought I’d lost you…”

Ronan looked toward Lysander, who looked back.

They knew exactly who it was.

Their sister-in-law.

Quietly, they stepped back, letting Orion and Sophia have a moment to themselves. Then they went back to the lobby.

Inside the room, Sophia clung tightly to Orion.

Tears streamed freely down her face as she buried herself against him.

“I’m so… so glad you’re okay,” she cried.