The Crown's Entrapment

Leaving the Queen Mother for her duties, Clara kept her composure as she strode forth.

From the moment she heard of the unwanted news of Darius accepting a marriage alliance from an Ebodian, she was already inwardly seething with annoyance. And to make matters worse, the fact that he apparently found his mate meant that the hill she had to climb just got steeper.

“Good day, Alpha Clara.”

“Greetings, Alpha Clara.”

Walking through the halls, everyone who passed by her showed her their utmost respect and adoration.

As usual, Clara gave them her typical smile and greeting, showing them her usual demeanor despite her current feelings. Whenever the hallway was empty, she would immediately grit her teeth, her jaw clenching as she walked past.

“The hell am I supposed to do…”

She bawled her fists, her knuckles going white as she kept up with her long strides.

Eventually, she reached her bedchambers, her anger boiling over as she abruptly closed the door behind her. She frowned seeing an unwanted visitor in her chamber.

“Hmm, watching your real face since you appeared so calm and cool a while ago before everyone is really interesting,” Gilas taunted.

“What are you doing here?!” she wryly hissed. “Get out!”

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To her chagrin, the man didn’t even budge in the slightest as he gave her a cunning smile. How she hated him for his manipulative smiles…

“I’m already comfy in this chair though,” he smirked. “Not even going to treat me as a guest?”

Clara growled at the annoying man. Gilas was a thorn in her life. Of all the people she knew, he was the only one who could somehow see through her, and she hated him for it!

To all, she was someone who should be treated with respect and honor, but Gilas knew how just how crafty she was. That behind her smile and good deeds hid an evil who would do even the most heinous of things just to achieve her only desire… Darius.

“You don’t deserve that much,” she scoffed.

“Ah, but what if I do?” Gilas quipped, taking something out of his pockets. “Looky here, Clara.”

Her frown deepened as she stared at the object Gilas was holding. It looked like an identification tag… It wasn’t a common tag either… Its owner was obviously someone from a royal family simply based on how well it was crafted.

“What’s that?!” Clara blurted out as she walked towards Gilas, snatching the tag made of gold with a dragon’s emblem marking it. “Princess Xenia of the Kingdom of Ebodia?!” she read the markings.

“Where did you get this?” Clara inquired with knitted brows, gingerly handling the tags.

“Hmm, I saw one of the merchant’s kids playing with it just this morning…” Gilas playfully replied.

“Kids?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged. “King Darius brought them here while you were away with the Queen Mother. They saved those merchants from barbarians on their way back to the kingdom, there was one particular lad that King Darius favored among those survivors.”

He placed a finger on his chin as he continued. “I believe it’s that lad I heard he claimed as his warrior-servant. The lad’s name is Xen… A beautiful lad I must say. Those forest green eyes are just too stunning and alive…”

“Just get to the point!” Clara impatiently remarked, making Gilas chuckle.

“Oh? But where’s the fun in that?”

She almost let off a growl in outright anger. Gilas was a mystery to her. His father, Elder Nassar, was always too vocal with how much he opposed King Darius with every decision.

Still, everyone was aware of how the Elder was bitter even after all these years since his son Gilas lost the fight against Darius at the Battle for the Throne. That was ten years ago, and the old man was still hanging on to old wounds.

Make no mistake, Gilas was a good fighter, but he wasn’t as good nor as blessed as Darius in terms of both physicality and skill.

Even so, Gilas had a good relationship with Darius. It’s because of this that she couldn’t tell whether he was for or against Darius as their current King. It didn’t help thate he often took a neutral stance on things…

He would agree or oppose Darius based on his opinions, he was just too hard to read in general. The only thing she knew for certain was the fact that Gilas loved to pester and bug her randomly like this.

Still, Clara could feel that there was something more to Gilas… as if the man was just waiting for the right opportunity to enact his plans.

It was for that reason that she was letting the man annoy her. It was so that she could fish for information that she could use against him. After all, she wouldn’t spare the man if he ever moved against Darius.

“Alright, fine,” Gilas shrugged. “That Xen looks too familiar. You’re well aware that I often visited Ebodia since it’s my mother’s homeland… That lad is Princess Xenia, the one who owned that tag.”

“And why would she disguise herself?!” Clara retorted, her eyes widened as she cursed. “Wait… That bitch! Did she plan everything all along to seduce Darius?!”

A burst of loud and crisp laughter roared from inside Clara’s room.

“Oh, Clara… You’re really funny. Till when do you plan on acting blind just because of Darius?” he teased her.

“She’s Darius’s mate. And obviously, their meeting is simply ordained by fate. Maybe you can even ask for the whole story once Gideon returns. I’m sure he’ll be more than enthusiastic about giving you every bit of detail in regards to what happened.”

“Ugh…” she groaned.

Having had his fun, Gilas stood up from where he was sitting and continued, “Well, consider me generous today, Clara. Who knows? You might be able to use that royal tag to your advantage… A little tweak in the story in a few parts, and you can easily make Princess Xenia’s name hated throughout the whole kingdom of Cordon.”

He then chuckled as he teased, “Although, I’m not sure if Darius would still choose the kingdom if he had to do so over his mate… Maybe he’ll choose the kingdom since his father died just to make sure he ruled? Or perhaps we cannot underestimate the power of the Mate Pull… Am I right?”

Clara refused to say a word, but her face reddened as she chided, “Get out now, Gilas!”

She flinched when Gilas held her shoulders and whispered, “How come you’re always angry whenever you will see me, Clara? Shouldn’t you be thanking me since I’m helping you achieve your goals?”

He then whispered into her ear, “Tell me… Isn’t your only goal in this world to stay by Darius’s side as his lifetime partner?… As his wife?… His Luna?”

Clara closed her eyes and grunted, “If you’re still here once I open my eyes…”

“Gone!” Gilas cheekily yelped as he continued laughing on his way towards the door. “It’s not too late though, Clara. With Darius… everything will be hard! But if you chose to side with me and be with me… I’ll give you everything you might ever want in this world.”

Ignoring his goading words, Clara finally opened her eyes, her sharp eyes glaring at the closed door behind her. What a pain… It was the first time she heard Gilas ever bargain with her so bluntly.

“He’s planning something against Darius,” Clara whispered to herself. And she would make sure to stop it.

But for the meantime…

Raising her hand up to her face, she took a closer look at the golden tag resting on her palm.

“Xenia…” she whispered with gritted teeth, her grip on the tag making her knuckles turn white. It was unacceptable. She wouldn’t let anyone go in between her and Darius. She wouldn’t let anyone have Darius, because Darius was hers and hers alone.