The Crown's Entrapment

At Silver Crescent Pack Territory

Inside the carriage, Clara would often sneak glances at Gilas every once in a while. He had suddenly barged into her manor and begged her to come with him earlier, saying that he desperately needed to see his mother and that he needed her help in doing so.

Seeing how he looked so bothered and weary, Clara could tell that something was going on. However, she was still hesitating to ask him exactly what the problem was. She didn't want to pry too much on his affairs, possibly even sending him the wrong signal.

[Hah! What wrong signal are you even talking about? You're obviously itching to find out what's bothering him,] Sheba scolded. [How long do you plan on being a hypocrite?]

Clara inwardly sighed. Lately, she and Sheba would often argue when it came to Gilas. It all started with that kiss she had with Gilas. It seemed as if Sheba was still not over it, and it had honestly kept on taunting her about it ever since.

[Ask him now if you're his mate, or else I won't let you shift during combat!] Sheba threatened. She and Sheba had always gotten along well from the start, and she couldn't believe just how often she and her wolf were arguing every so often now.

Sighing silently, Clara finally found her voice to speak and asked, "Are you alright?"

Gilas, who was sitting in front of her, turned to her with a faint smile and replied, "I'm alright, Lady Clara. Why do you ask?"

"Because you look like something bad is going on?" she replied, her gaze never leaving him. "It's obvious all over your face. You're clearly not alright…"

In front of her, she watched Gilas gather his thoughts as he breathed in, his chest moving up and down as if he had a lot of burdens inside his chest. He then smiled at her and weakly uttered, "I'm just tired, is all."

[He needs comfort! Go and make a move,] Sheba authoritatively instructed. [Maybe sit beside him instead! Go and hug him!]

At Sheba's insistence, Clara moved her body out of instinct. She sat closely beside Gilas, the latter turning to her and blinking rapidly. He was obviously taken aback by her action.

"It's my wolf, not me," Clara quickly explained with an awkward smile. "I don't know what's wrong with Sheba, but she insisted that you needed some comforting."

It was the only thing she could do. She had no choice but to tell the truth just so she wouldn't feel too embarrassed by her involuntary actions.

Gilad let out a soft chuckle at her response. His face lightening up a bit, he said, "I must thank your wolf for being considerate of my situation then. Indeed, I need some comforting at the moment, but how would you send your comforting efforts, Lady Clara?"

Clara's face blushed, feeling the hint of teasing in Gilas's voice.

[See how his aura suddenly changed now that you're closer to him? Ask him now. We need to know if he's our mate and is currently experiencing the Mate Pull,] Sheba forcefully insisted.

[You know I have a problem with my sense of smell, so I can't possibly confirm it myself, but my instincts are definitely still working as intended! You feel something too when you two touched and kissed. I know it!]

Clara inwardly grimaced. She needed her wolf in the tournament, and having been with Sheba for so long, she could tell that her wolf's threat was something that she shouldn't disregard.

Her wolf was true to her word, and if she said that she wouldn't help her, then Sheba would absolutely do just that and let her fight with only her human form. Of course, she could do it just fine, but what if her opponent suddenly shifted into a wolf woman? Things would be hard on her if that ever happened.

"Milady?" Gilas called her attention. He probably noticed how hard she was currently zoning out.

"Right, I have something to ask you," Clara sighed, her words making her blush as she forced herself to continue. "Sheba has been bugging me about it since that incident when you… we…"

"When we?" Gilas asked, keenly waiting for her to finish her words.

"When you kissed me…" Clara awkwardly continued her thought. "You see, no one knows about this problem I've had since I was a kid except for the royal family, Gideon, and Bartos. My wolf Sheba lost her sense of smell long ago…"

"But after that time when you kissed me, she's been insisting that she felt it, the instinctive Mate Pull that she's been searching for. However, there's no way that she could confirm since she can't smell you…" She took a breath as she finally asked, "So what I've wanted to ask you is if there is indeed a Mate Pull between us?"

She bit her inner cheek as she waited for Gilas to answer, and she gulped as he simply stared at her without batting an eye. Looking at her closely, he murmured, "Will there be anything different if I tell you that I'm feeling the Mate Pull right now? That we're mates?"

He kept asking, "What would change after, Clara? Will you stop pining after Darius and pivot your feelings towards me? Will you no longer fight in that tournament to become Queen for Darius? Tell me, Clara, will things change between us if I told you that we're both each other's mates??

[What's wrong with this man?] Sheba scoffed in outrage. [He only needed to answer with a simple yes or no! Why is he going on with these riddles right now?]

"Sheba said that you should just answer the question with a yes or a no," Clara pointed out. "Why are you returning my questions back at me?"

She did not know how to answer him at all. Would she really give up Darius for him? She felt so conflicted that she suddenly felt dizzy just thinking about it. Silence followed, and none dared to speak to break it. However…

"You're my mate," Gilas spoke out, breaking the tense bubble settled between them. "And yes, I've been able to perfectly feel the Mate Pull towards you since I was eighteen."

Clara stared at him with parted lips.

Meanwhile, Sheba burst out, [I knew it!]