The Crown's Entrapment

As soon as Gilas had become responsive again, Clara wasted no time in bringing her mate food for him to eat. It had been days since he last ate, and only now was he finally giving his body what it needed to fully recover.

"Chew slowly," Clara reminded him as she spoonfed him a bowl of soup. "You don't want me to call Mother or Lady Aurelia back here, don't you?"

"I'm just that hungry, alright?" Gilas weakly chuckled, a slight blush on his face as he swallowed. "And the soup just tastes delicious."

"It should since Mother made it for you," Clara scoffed. "Also, it's exactly because you're hungry that you should take things slowly. Lady Aurelia told you that your body is still adjusting, which means that you can't eat too much unless you want to get sick again."

Gilas grimaced, and Clara could only shake her head at her mate's antics. It had been equal parts hilarious and worrying when he ate his first bowl of soup. He went through his meal so quickly that it almost looked like he had made a miraculous recovery, only for him to throw up everything he had eaten because his stomach wasn't ready.

"I'm not going to let you clean up after me again, Clara," Gilas chuckled after he had taken yet another spoonful from her. "I've learned my lesson."

"You should, seeing as I don't want to smell of your vomit again," Clara huffed even as she fed him yet another spoonful of soup. "And don't tell me that you want me to smell like you. Your scent and vomit are completely different things."

"I haven't even said anything yet," he amusedly laughed.

"But you thought about it," she pointed out. "Just focus on getting better first before anything else."

Silently, the two of them remained in the bedchamber as Clara spoonfed Gilas. Slowly but surely, she fed him his meal, giving his body some much-needed nutrients to hasten his recovery. From there, she prepared to clean up after him, grabbing a set of hand towels along with a change of clothes for him.

"Can you stand?" Clara asked.

"I'll try," he nodded. "Can I get some support, at least?"

Rolling her eyes, Clara held out her hand, pulling Gilas up and allowing him to hold onto her shoulders. Going through the motions, she wet a small hand towel with warm water before then rubbing it all over her mate's face. She didn't even pay it any mind that her hands were going right underneath his clothes. Her palms rubbed themselves all across his hot body. And while she was feeling a bit frisky because of it, her own amusement at caring for Gilas like this overpowered any sort of desire to have him.

That, and she was pretty sure he was still too weak to even survive their brand of love-making.

"Put your hands up," Clara instructed, wringing out the cloth and cleaning it out. "I need to take off your shirt."

Gilas wordlessly obeyed, but not before flashing her a flirtatious, yet obviously pained smile as he was forced to stand on his own two feet. Giving him a smirk, Clara relished a bit of his own pain as she left him standing for a tad longer than she should have.

"C-Can you hurry up? My arms are starting to hurt."

"I'm just making sure your clothes are ready," Clara giggled. "Just a bit more, alright?"

Chuckling, Clara decided that she had her fun as soon as she heard him wobble on his feet. Moving quickly, she pulled off his shirt, exposing his chiseled, yet partly diminished body. Attributing it to his current state, she paid it no mind in favor of scrubbing his chest and back of all of the dirt and grime that had accumulated during his prior state of comatose and listlessness. Slowly but surely, she went through her task, before then giving herself a nod of approval at the sight of his clean body.

"All done," she smirked as she set the towel down. "Now to clothe you."

"Really? Not even going to stare?" Gilas teased.

"I've stared more than enough, actually."

Clara moved to grab the new shirt and prepared herself to put it on him. However, she stalled right before doing so, her eyes lingering on his exposed shoulder as a thought occurred to her.

"Do you think you can handle me marking you right now?"

"I-I think so?" Gilas answered, his excitement palpable. "What brought this on?"

"It's just... Our Bond's muted right now, right? Maybe if I mark you back, it'll get stronger again," Clara explained. She then averted her gaze as she added, "Well, that and... I want to show you how much I love you..."

"Clara..." he breathed out.

"Still, we can go through this some other time," she insisted. "If you're not ready for it, then-"

"Do it," Gilas cut her off. "I'm ready for it."

Clara looked up at him, and she almost declined before she shook her head and went for it. Her fangs bared, and she bit into his shoulder, her mark spreading across his skin as she felt their Bond slowly return to how it was once.

In front of her, Gilas shook, his hands wrapping around her as he held onto her for support. Before long, she was finished, her mark now displayed proudly on her mate's shoulder.

And with it, their Bond was restored.

[D-Did it work?] Clara asked.

[It did,] Gilas replied, his happiness and wonder coming to her as he smiled brightly. [And that's not all... I can feel Ham inside me again!]

Clara fought the urge to scream in success as she wrapped Gilas up in her arms for a tight embrace. Without any hesitation, she smacked her lips against his, and he responded in kind as he returned the favor with a fervent kiss of his own.

"T-Thank you so much, Clara," Gilas teared up. "Thank you for accepting me... For accepting my love..."

"No... Thank you for not giving up on me, Gilas," Clara answered back, her own tears starting to fall. "You didn't give up on me then, so it was only fair that I didn't give up on you now..."

They then gave each other yet another passionate kiss. Their tongues fought for dominance, their love for each other overflowing both physically and emotionally as they felt their desire for one another flare up. But just before they could go forward, Clara's balance tipped over, causing both of them to fall onto the bed.

"I-I guess we're both not in the best shape for this," Gilas chuckled.

"I agree," Clara giggled. "I won't have you going unconscious on me for this. No, I can wait."

"As can I," he lovingly replied. "In the meantime, care to nurse me back to good health?"

Clara mirthfully rolled her eyes, "As if there's any doubt..."