The Crown's Entrapment

Hearing his sister’s serious tone, Darius didn’t waste time as he immediately went straight to Freya. She was at the stables, tending to her favorite horse as she usually did whenever she was upset. She never changed, it seemed… always running to her horse whenever she was sad or angry, dismissing everyone that came to her as she stayed there alone.

Reaching the stables, Darius let out a sigh as he approached Freya, gently stroking Speedy’s mane as he established his presence. That was the name young Freya named the horse when she received it from their father when she turned ten. Speedy was but a pony at that time that their father assigned him to her care.

“Speedy will leave me soon,” Freya lamented as she hugged her horse. “In just a few more years… How come a horse’s life span isn’t that long…”

“He will at least leave us with his lineage,” Darius commented. “He has ten babies for you to choose from.”

Hearing his words, Freya’s eyes swelled until her tears finally broke through. Inadvertently, he made her cry, and it broke his heart to be the one to do it with his callous words.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered._.

“I still hate you,” Freya mumbled out. “How could you keep it to yourself for ten years? You could’ve told us sooner… That way, I-“

“No…” Darius firmly denied. “I would’ve done the same thing, Freya, even if I somehow managed to go back in time…”

“Selfish… Do you think you can save us from the burden?” Freya bitterly asked. “That’s just selfish of you. You deprived us of sharing that burden with you. You’re so greedy, Brother. And yet, in the end, you still have to tell us everything anyway. Thanks for nothing, sparing us those ten years keeping us in the dark only to break us now.”

Darius could only sigh at her sister’s bitter words. Freya was still mad at him, and he could honestly understand why.

“…I’m sorry…” Freya weakly murmured out, tears pooling out of her eyes once again.

If he was surprised at her apology, Darius didn’t care as he pulled her sister in for an embrace. “Shh… Please don’t be mad anymore, Freya. I already told you and Mother the truth this time. You’re already a grown woman who can fend for herself, something that I was honestly waiting for before, well, revealing this secret to you.”

He rubbed her back as he added “Now you know, and I’ll be at ease knowing that you won’t let yourself be used. Just act like you always do, Freya, and I’ll do the rest. I’ll make sure that justice will be served soon. And from now on, I won’t keep you and mother in the dark. I’ll let you play your part so that our victory will be all the more worth it in the end, even if it takes a long time…”

He continued, “Look, I know you like Gilas very much, but… I honestly don’t have anything against him except for the fact that Nasser is his father.”

He reluctantly admitted, “Although Gilas is someone hard to read, so far, he’s clean. Besides, it’s not right that we also put blame on a son for a crime that his father committed. However, we’re still unsure if Gilas could be truly trusted. Family will always be a family, after all. In the same way how blood is always thicker than water.”

Freya let out a long sigh before she gently pushed her brother away to properly look at him. She honestly didn’t want to tell her brother that she already found her mate, but seeing the worry creeping all over his face, she knew she had no choice but to tell him the truth.

“Brother… I already found my mate,” Freya started, her eyes averting his face as she admitted. “I recognized him the night I came back home to the castle.”

“Who was it?” Darius directly asked her with a frown.

“It’s Lord Gideon.”

“What?!” Darius burst out. The lines on his forehead deepened while he blinked at her. “Wait.. How come that arse isn’t telling me a thing!”

“Err… What if he doesn’t feel the Mate Pull?” Freya weakly suggested. “We all know that not all werewolves are blessed to feel the Mate Pull and that not all instances of it are mutual between two werewolves. What if I’m the only one feeling it?”

It was still possible, so long as she disregarded the fact that Gideon called her his mate that night. Then again, the man was drunk, and she simply couldn’t trust a drunk man’s words. It was silly, but she wouldn’t believe it unless Lord Gideon confirmed it to her himself while he was sober. That was why she was waiting for him to return.

“I’ll talk to him and confirm this,” Darius promptly replied. “He’s still outside, but he’ll be back tonight just before Xen and I leave. Although, I’m honestly more at ease now. Gideon is someone worthy for you, Freya.”

He smiled, “I’m sure you’ll like him. You’ve been away for four years, but you’ll have a lot of time to get to know him now. You two have so many similarities if I might say.”

“You and mother said the same thing, but I highly doubt that,” Freya sighed. “Really, all I remember from Lord Gideon was how he vexed me most of the time. Seriously, he never failed to tease and annoy me…”

Darius laughed and messed with her short hair hanging on her forehead as he patted her.

“Ugh… Just like this!” she added with crossed arms.

“Ah, I always liked doing this… These wispy short strands of hair on your forehead are simply too adorable,” he chuckled.

ɴ[0)ᴠᴇʟ “And I’m sure Gideon thinks the same. Really, don’t judge my friend so easily, dear sister. I’m telling you, I can never be more at ease with your future now. If it wasn’t Gideon, I wouldn’t have minded Bartos. But apparently, the latter already has a mate, so Gideon’s the only one available and worthy of my sister.”

Freya had a pout as she mumbled, “But Lord Gilas is still better than him…”

“Do you really want Nasser to be your father-in-law?” Darius simply asked.

“Of course not! Over my dead body!” Freya denied with gritted teeth. “Besides, I’ll be the one to kill that old geezer! But don’t worry, Brother. I won’t compromise your plans. I’ll just hold it in till the right time comes.”

It would be hard though. Now that she knew the truth, there was no way that she would let that traitor play with her like he used to!

Darius no longer continued with their current conversation as he simply changed topics by saying, “By the way, you should thank Gideon. He’s the one who personally took good care of Speedy while you were gone, including his offspring.”

He creased his forehead and then hummed, “Now that I think about it… he would also often ask how you’re doing at Mount Sorel while you were gone. Adding all that, it just tells me now that Gideon actually knows that you’re his mate.”