The Crown's Entrapment

Calypso couldn't help but sniff at the pleasant aroma currently wafting inside Aurelia'a bedchamber. Every corner smelled of his mate, and he wanted so badly to have a sleepover with her there.

[Crazy!]

Axel snapped him back to his senses, and Calypso inwardly chuckled at the reminder to come back down to the world of the living. Also, before his dear cousin Freya left, she was considerate enough to telepathically relay to him how she had confronted Aurelia about the latter's feelings for Gideon. He shook his head, recalling Freya's exact words before she left.

….

..

'Good luck to you, Cousin. I hope that this time, you'll be a bit more serious now that you've found your mate,' Freya encouraged him. 'You've found your match in Aurelia, and I'm rooting for you to succeed. She might still have some feelings for my mate, but I honestly feel sorry for her. She's truly trying her best to hide and overcome it. She would need help with it, and while I'm not sure if you're the best person for the job…' She trailed off before she shook her head. 'Nevertheless, she's now also family to me, so you better treat her right or you'll be dead to me. And trust me, I'll know if you added more pain to her broken heart instead of healing it!'

..

….

[I still can't believe I heard those words coming from that kid,] Calypso snorted as he quickly sported a roguish smile for Aurelia. [The last time I saw her was when she was just ten… and she wasn't that feisty before.]

[Time can change a person, you know,] Axel scoffed. [That's just par for the course.]

Sitting on the chair Aurelia told him to sit on, he simply watched as she then sat opposite him. She then let out a long and loud sigh before leveling her head to face him. She looked awfully serious. Then again, she was always like that whenever he was around her; quite different from whenever she was around Gideon…

And just like that, Calypso inwardly cursed as a bundle of foreign feelings started developing inside his heart.

[That's called jealousy.] Axel pointed out.

[Or probably the possessive effect of the Mate Pull.] he defended. He still believed that everything he was feeling around Aurelia was nothing more than the strong effects of the Mate Pull guiding him towards her.

"So tell me, milady. What is it for that you want to use me?" he straightforwardly asked, the silence between them starting to become too bothersome for him to ignore.

"Let's become mates as you've said…" Aurelia blunted remarked. "A couple, but only in the eyes of others."

"Right… You want to use me as your personal shield so you that can hide your feelings for your brother…" he pointed out, making Aurelia's face pale even more than it already had.

"You… You also…" she murmured, unable to finish her thought as she fumbled through her words.

"Yes. You're too obvious with how you are around Gideon. Our eyes are the window to our soul, and while you might be able to refrain from such things by limiting your actions or movements, you can't deny the emotions your eyes are conveying," Calypso explained. "Well, there are some who are good at it, but not you, Aurelia. Your eyes were practically twinkling like stars whenever you look at Gideon."

Aurelia didn't react or even defend herself. She just looked so guilty with her feelings that it annoyed him to no end. He did find his mate sure, but he didn't expect her to be in love with another man!

Calypso shrugged as he continued, "I'll agree to your proposal, but you must understand that what you want won't be convincing enough unless we complete the Mate Bond." He insisted, "I need to mark you, and we need to mate. And I don't like forcing myself on women, Aurelia. It's not in my character to claim a woman's body against her own free will."

He watched Aurelia gulp as she wrinkled her forehead in deep thought, her eyes darting to the table with a squint. How he hoped he could read her thoughts at that moment. He couldn't help but wonder just what exactly was going on inside her head right now.

"Fine, I'll let you mark me, but about the mating part… I'm not ready…" she relented, her voice coming out as low as it possibly could. "Uhm… Can it wait till I become at least amicable about it?"

Calypso inwardly cursed at the sight before him. He felt like he was a total loser just watching her being this down on his demands. It was as if she had no other choice left but him.

[It's better than getting nothing out of our mate. Just think of it as an opportunity presenting itself to you. Grab this chance to help the two of you know each other better,] Axel pointed out in a positive light. [You'll be able to get closer to her, and if you work hard, you can totally kick Gideon out of her mind and heart!]

Calypso inwardly sighed. Axel was obviously ecstatic at the sudden turn of events. Dare he say it, his wolf was actually looking forward to it.

"Hmm… Then tell me whenever you're ready to get marked," Calypso confidently stated. "And don't worry about the mating process for now. I'll make sure to prepare you enough for it that you'll ask me for it soon anyway."

Calypso smirked. He didn't mean for his words to come off as flirtatious, but it just came to him out of habit. Still, he smiled upon seeing how red Aurelia's face had become. "You look so adorable blushing like that, Lia," he quickly added. "Can I address you as Lia now? My Lia?"

Aurelia frowned and, with a sigh, mumbled, "Fine..." She then looked at him and added, "But first, I'll need to have a serious conversation about this with my family. I'll let you know once I've settled with them about all of this."

"I'll want to formally introduce myself to them, Lia. Let's just wrap up our duties first in the Capital City?" Calypso offered. "From there, how about I escort you back home so that I can formally introduce myself to your family while we're at it?"

"Alright, let's do that then," Aurelia answered with a slight smile. "Might as well make it look more convincing on top of it…"

Calypso shrugged. With a pout, he mumbled, "Still, you should remember that it's not going to be purely acting on my part, Aurelia. I'm willing to be a part of your plan just so I can get closer to you." He seriously stated, "Like I said to your brother, you're not like any other woman I've ever met. I'm serious about you. So whatever I'm doing around you won't be acting at all…"

Hearing his words, Aurelia simply shrugged at him as well. Looking at him straight in the eye, she said, "I must also remind you that you're simply acting on your instincts since I'm your mate. There's a big difference between being in love and experiencing the Mate Pull, Lord Calypso."

She then sighed as she shook her head in resignation. "Still, if it'll make things fair for the both of us, I'll try my best to make this relationship work. I can't promise you anything, however."

Calypso's lips stretched themselves wide as he replied, "Hearing that you'll try your best to make this work between us is good enough for me, Lia. Let's do that then…"