The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia simply smiled from the sidelines as she watched the celebration wind down as soon as Freya and Gideon left. The two were clearly stuck in their own world, ignoring everyone and everything in favor of focusing on themselves in their love for one another as they retreated from the great hall. Still, that didn't mean that the celebration itself was over. Far from it, now was the time for them to truly connect and do away with all of the formality that was expected of them for the Ritual.

"They really acted like the world revolved around them back there," Bella chuckled as she nursed a glass of wine in one hand. "I'm kind of jealous."

"It'll happen to you eventually," Jayra teased. "That's just normal when you're newly wedded. They're going straight towards the honeymoon phase."

The Queen chuckled alongside her friends as they all shared a newly freed-up table. Along with Clara and Aurelia, they've all managed to get away from their men and companions in favor of having a bit of girl talk amongst themselves.

"I just hope they tone it down," Aurelia scoffed, traces of coldness still seeping through her tone. "They can't always act like that whenever they're together."

"Oh, relax," Jayra patted the woman's back with a soft hand. "They're just riding the high of officially being together. They'll calm down soon enough."

"I hope that's sooner rather than later then," Aurelia sighed. "I can't stand too much sweetness around me."

"As if you'll be missing out on what I've heard about you and Calypso are going to pan out," Xenia pointed out, letting out a small chuckle. "Like it or not, you'll be on the receiving end of a loved one's undying affection, and I'm sure that Calypso will be doing a lot of that once you two really get together."

"We'll see about that," Aurelia reluctantly answered. "I know I'm rather hard to please, but he's certainly trying."

A lull then settled across the table. Beside Xenia, Clara remained quiet, a pensive look on her face as she played with her glass of wine.

"What's wrong, Clara?" Xenia asked. She was glad she had this moment with these women. It was nice to get to know more about Clara, Aurelia, and Bella.

"It's nothing, Your Grace," Clara replied, a faint smile adorning her face as she looked up. "I'm just lamenting the fact that my healing session with Lady Jayra about my wolf's problem with her sense of smell would have to be postponed until she gets back from Ebodia."

"Oh, sorry about that," Jayra quickly apologized, having heard of the woman's problem. "Though if anything, I promise that we'll get to that as soon as I get back."

"I'm willing to give you hand as well, if you wish," Aurelia chimed in. "I'm sure that I can start looking into some possible solutions while Lady Jayra is out on her journey."

"Thank you all," Clara smiled, her gratitude showing through her eyes. "This means a lot…"

"Come on now, Clara. We're all friends here now," Bella chuckled. "This is expected of us. The least we can do is to help each other out."

Xenia let out a nod of agreement. "And speaking of helping out, do you all think that Freya would mark Gideon?" she suddenly asked out of curiosity. "I've heard that some female werewolves choose not to do it depending on their preference."

"I second that, actually," Jayra spoke up. "I know that there's a benefit to doing so, but I'm not exactly a werewolf to really connect with it."

The table descended into a brief silence as the female werewolves all fell into deep thought about such a scenario.

"I think she'll mark him," Bella spoke up first. "I mean, just look at them from earlier. They were practically owning the dance floor."

"And as much as I'd like to think otherwise, I agree," Aurelia sighed. "I might… not have as much experience with the Mate Pull, but one look at the two of them would tell anybody that they'd share all they had with each other tonight."

"That is true," Xenia hummed. "Also, having Freya mark her mate would also mean that Gideon wouldn't be able to block her from reading his thoughts. The act would put them as equals, yes?"

"That's right," Clara nodded. "If Freya doesn't like being kept in the dark, she's all but guaranteed to try and mark him. That is if the Pull won't be enough of an incentive for her to begin with."

"So the consensus is that Freya will mark him," Jayra hummed. "Well, it's not like I didn't expect it."

"It's to be expected then," Xenia shrugged with a chuckle. "Not that I thought otherwise, but maybe she'd just not do it, you know?"

"That's kind of laughable especially after we saw them being all lovey-dovey without a care in the world," Bella snorted. "If anything, I wouldn't be surprised if they're doing it right now."

And just like that, every single woman on the table blushed at the thought of Freya and Gideon making hot love with one another in some room within the mansion. Xenia hid her blush by taking a sip of her wine, her gaze moving towards her own mate who seemed to be spending some time with some of his men.

"Wanting some action yourself, My Queen?" Jayra teased.

"If it happens, then yes," Xenia shamelessly replied. "Also, I'm just curious as to what they're talking about."

"They're probably talking about the kingdom as usual," Aurelia pointed out with a scoff. "That's what they usually talk about anyway."

"Or maybe they're actually talking about us," Bella suggested, her gossip energy starting to flare up. "I'm sure our mates are defending our dignity right now."

"Please don't say that, Bella," Clara sighed. "I agree with Lady Aurelia. They have the best interests of Cordon to heart, and I'm sure that they're busy hashing out some details in regards to our defense against Helion."

Xenia couldn't help but smile as her gaze never left Darius, her curiosity growing stronger the longer she looked at him.

"What do you think then, My Queen?" Jayra asked. "What do you think they're talking about?"

"We could always just ask, you know," Xenia pointed out with a smirk. "We're Bonded to two of the men over there."

"But that's just cheating," Jayra teased. "Seriously, what do you think?"

Xenia thought long and hard before she let off a shrug. "In all honesty, I think they're talking about us."

As if by fate, all of the women at the table felt a shudder run down their spine. They assumed it was just the cold weather, but they wouldn't believe just how right their Queen was in her assumption.