The Crown's Entrapment

A few days after Gilas introduced Clara to his pack as his Luna, she became very busy wrapping things up on her own pack. She still had work to do before she can fully settle down with Gilas as his Luna, and she would be remiss if she put it off for longer.

"Alpha Clara, are you really just going to abandon us like this?" her second in command, Seth, ranted at her.

Chuckling, Clara turned to the man who was only a year younger than her. She patted his shoulder and said, "Who said that I'll abandon you all? I won't, Seth. Me stepping down from being our pack's alpha doesn't mean that I'll abandon the pack. I will remain a member of the Midnight Pack, but I will no longer bear the responsibility of being your leader."

"What's the difference?" he snorted with a frown. "You'll be staying at the Silver Crescent Pack as their Luna now. You won't be our Alpha…"

"Hmm… But who am I to reject the Almighty's blessings?" Clara reiterated. "I've been given a mate who is an Alpha of his own pack. And according to our kingdom and heaven's law… it is I who must succumb to him."

There was silence after that. A beat passed, and Seth's sighs filled the air within her mansion. She was currently packing up the things that she planned on taking with her on her move to Keen Manor. Her officers had come to aid her thankfully, but not all of them had fully accepted the decision she made. One of those officers was Seth.

"Besides, I've entrusted our pack to a powerful person who I believe can even surpass me in ruling this pack," she reassured him with a smile.

Seth pursed his lips. "Hah, that man was nowhere to be found for years before he suddenly popped out from nowhere," he scoffed. "We don't care if he owns huge amounts of territory and property in our pack! He still needs to prove himself, and I for one will challenge him for it!"

Clara simply chuckled. From what she could recall, Calypso's father, Lord Marcian, had purchased a wide area within their territory as land when he married Lady Anna, Calypso's mother.

The Grant Manor in their territory was honestly bigger than hers. And since she passed on her position to the man, the latter would make the Grant Manor as the main hub of the pack now. And as for her, this family manor would at most become a vacation estate for her. A property that her lineage would inherit in the future.

Clara smiled at Seth. "I will root for you then, Seth. Although, I must warn you to think more about doing such a thing…" she warned him. "I, for one, know of Calypso's capabilities. Even while he was away, he managed to make himself for being a strong and capable man, not to mention how he had also learned a lot of things in improving himself, not just in strength, but also in wits.."

"Still, we won't make things that easy for him even with your recommendation," Seth firmly stated. "We'll be the ones to decide on whether or not he's truly deserving of leading us."

Clara could only nod in agreement. She didn't want to add more bitterness to Seth's emotions by praising Calypso too much in front of them.

In truth, she had personally chosen the man because she knew no one else amongst her people who she knew would be able to manage the position of being an Alpha. She didn't look down on her members, of course, but having been with them for so long had allowed her to know them all enough to see that she needed someone like Calypso to be the Alpha of her pack. It was also a good thing that the man had also earned the position by being a Midnight Pack member by birth.

Soon enough after a few more discussions, Clara left Seth before going straight to her bedchamber. Letting out a long deep sigh, she looked at a particular storage chest within her room.

[Don't tell me you plan on bringing that chest with you,] Sheba remarked. [If I were you, I'd simply dispose of it…]

Shrugging, Clara walked towards the chest and mindlessly opened it. Inside were the memorabilia that she had kept… those that reminded her of her great and wonderful memories with her first love, Darius. There were even unsent poems and love letters in it that she wrote for him, those that she didn't have the courage to give to him.

Letting out another sigh, she murmured, "Do I have to dispose of it all? I mean, it's been a part of my life for years, and it's not like I have any plans on not treasuring these memories. Let's keep it here for now."

While it was true that she had already given up on her feelings for Darius, things weren't actually that easy for her. Deep inside her heart, she still knew how much Darius had occupied most of the space in it. It would honestly take her more time to let Gilas invade that space, and possibly even more for her to fully evict Darius from her heart.

This time, it was Sheba that let out a frustrated sigh. "Stop overreacting. You know me more than anyone else," Clara chuckled. "It was so easy for me to give myself to Gilas like you wanted since I can also feel something whenever we touch or have skin-to-skin contact, but that's not all, isn't it? I know it's the Mate Pull, but like I've always said: I don't want to rush things and let my lust take over me."

[Why am I getting frustrated? I know for sure you won't last that long with that kind of mindset that you strongly stand for…] Sheba scoffed. [Hahaha! Gilas is taking things slowly for now, but it's only a matter of time till you meet him and he fully gives in to making full-blown advances to you. Mark my words… One day, he will erupt like a dormant volcano, and you'll soon end up getting burned without even so much as a reply.]

Clara only chuckled and murmured, "Let's just go and wrap things up. We have to prepare for the journey ahead, and Mother is already waiting…"

They were supposed to attend the Ritual of Marking between Gideon and Freya. It was needed of them since Freya was the Kingdom's Princess, and that was on top of her really wanting to be there.

From what she could recall, the event would be happening in the next two days in the evening, while they themselves were scheduled to leave before dawn. Clara would then accompany her mother-in-law in the carriage for the journey, seeing as the older woman preferred to travel in a carriage instead of riding a werewolf in wolf form. Due to that, they would have to leave at the earliest of today.

Absently, she wondered what kind of dress she should prepare to wear for the party. Somehow, she wanted to look good for that exact occasion…

[Go and get something alluring and seductive!] Sheba excitedly suggested. [I want Gilas to see how lucky he is to have you as his mate.]

Clara chuckled and murmured, "It's not like he hasn't seen me dressed in my best, Sheba."

Still, deep inside, she wouldn't hide the fact that she was starting to get conscious whenever she was around Gilas. In a way, it felt like she always wanted to be at her best whenever she was with him, very far from before when she didn't care at all about how she looked around him.