The Crown's Entrapment

At Keen Manor, Silver Crescent Pack Territory

Clara, along with her mother-in-law Shila, had been quickly escorted back to the Keen Manor by Gilas's men as soon as things settled down in the arena. They rode in a nondescript carriage in silence, with Gilas and his men being ahead of them since they still had to clean up some things in the manor.

They still had to capture and interrogate all of Nasser's men and underlings and no one would be spared from punishment for colluding with an enemy of the kingdom. That was Darius's way, and he would definitely make sure to make it an example for the others…

Soon, the carriage stopped. The door opened, and Clara saw Gilas extending out a hand for her and his Mother. Reaching out, she gulped at the feeling of his hand touching hers. She felt it again. The same feeling as if there was some kind of electricity running through her body whenever they would touch. Last night, she had felt the same thing, but thankfully, it was far more intense than what she was feeling now.

[Mate Pull…] Sheba snorted. Her wolf was still annoyed at her, so she wouldn't bother talking to her unless her wolf couldn't help but throw in a few words like now. Like last time, Clara didn't bother to reply. She simply didn't have the energy to do so.

"I would like to rest early and be alone for the night. I will ask my chamberlain to bring me my dinner to my bedchamber instead later, so you two don't worry about me," Lady Shila remarked with a faint smile to both Clara and Gilas. "You'll see me up as usual tomorrow morning."

"Goodnight then, Mother. See you tomorrow," Clara commented.

Lady Shila smiled at Clara before turning her gaze towards her son. Gilas simply nodded, and the lady of the house went ahead towards her rest with her chamberlain and servants trailing behind her.

"Would you like to have dinner in the bedchamber too?" Gilas asked her as soon as his mother left.

Clara simply nodded. She honestly didn't have an appetite right now, but maybe she just needed to eat more to prevent the shivering from last night.

[I forgot to ask Lady Jayra about my chills earlier…] Clara murmured to Sheba. Once again, her wolf didn't answer, and she could only sigh at the silence.

It all started last night when Gilas cuddled with her. Sheba was going haywire that night, and her wolf was practically pushing her to mate with Gilas. Clara, of course, shrugged her off and simply rested in Gilas's warmth. It was so comfortable that she easily gave in to sleep.

From there, she heard Sheba scoff, but there were no words like she'd usually do. The wolf simply shook her head at Clara, keeping silent even as she started walking with Gilas towards their bedchamber.

"How are you feeling? Last night, you were shivering so badly that I inquired Lady Jayra about it. Apparently, there are still some remnants of the poison in your body that your own healing capabilities can take care of, but with the added side effect of you being more vulnerable to the cold every night," Gilas explained.

"Last night, I hugged you to keep you warm, and I'm telling you this now because I plan on doing the same again whenever you shiver."

Clara absently nodded before she ended up chuckling at what she heard.

"What is it?" Gilas inquired with knitted brows as both of them stopped right in front of their doorstep.

Instead of replying, she simply smiled and opened the door to his bedchamber. Walking inside, she said, "Nothing, really. You just sounded so polite and caring back there. Before, you would always annoy me and sound more like a villain trying to get me onto your side…"

Gilas's face reddened. That was true. She could still remember how the man would constantly pester her about her feelings towards Darius. Still, what she couldn't forget was him casually asking her just why won't she just stripped in front of Darius to make things easier for her. Or that he would even help her drug Darius so that the two of them could end up in one bedchamber where the Queen Mother could see them afterwards.

Clara scoffed and burst out, "You already knew I was your mate, and yet you still openly told me things on how to seduce Darius."

"You should know that I didn't mean all of them," Gilas murmured.

"Right, that's your way of mocking me…" Clara mumbled with a pout.

"I'm sorry," Gilas apologetically uttered.

Clara smiled. "It's fine, Gilas."

Soon, their dinner came, and Clara heartily ate her portion with Gilas. In between bites, they had a few productive conversations brewing between them.

"Do you think it's finally over? I mean, Helion's army also retreated, and Gideon's group defeated Helion's army between our and Ebodia's borders," Clara asked as she grabbed some water for herself. "Still, why do I feel like things aren't done yet?"

"Well, there are still so many things to do at the moment," Gilas promptly replied.

"We still need to trace just what exactly Nasser's connection was to Helion. There's also his right-hand man Bulun, who's still on the loose out there. We've yet to catch him along with his fellow spies dispatched to our kingdom. So all in all, it's still far from being done. There's still so much work to do for our king."

He then looked at her intently and asked, "Are you going to return to your post then? I heard the King offered your post back to you."

Clara smiled and nodded. She then stressed out, "Hmmm… I'll return, but it'll take more time than just me going back. I'll be your wife now, so I also have a lot of things to wrap up in my pack." She enumerated her reasons with a scoff, "I want to make sure that my pack will be in good hands once I leave them to stay here with you. After all, I'm your mate and your Luna for the Silver Crescent Pack now. I won't be greedy to keep the Midnight Pack under my palm despite being here with you."

"Do you have anyone in mind to replace you then?" Gilas inquired. A ruling Alpha could choose someone to replace him or her as the Alpha of the pack. From there, it would be up to the members to accept them. Some could even simply challenge the chosen ruler of the previous Alpha for the right to lead in their stead.

"Hmm… I'm considering Calypso since his mother was from the Midnight Pack," Clara considered. "But I still have to discuss this matter with His Majesty as soon as I'm able…"

Clara then timidly smiled at him as she suddenly asked, "How about you give me your opinion on this matter? After all, you're already my husband."

It was weird. Somehow, she felt overwhelmed knowing that she now had someone that she could rely on.

[Tsk, husband… How dare you call him your husband when you haven't even given yourself to him yet?! The Mate Bond isn't even completed!] Sheba suddenly retorted, making Clara cough to herself.