The Crown's Entrapment

The days passed by quickly, and soon, the new facility where Pinra was going to be transferred was finally built. Of course, Gilas personally inspected that particular house within the Keen Manor's grounds. He had to make sure that it would be secured enough to hold his cousin at her worst, and there was no way that he'd compromise on anything beyond maximum security.

That also meant that he had to be there when his mother wanted to make a few final touches within the compound. He sighed as he watched her work, and by the end of it, the whole place didn't even look like a prison anymore. Instead, it ended up looking like a private house in all but name. It had a garden inside, and there were windows too. But unlike those found in Pinra's old cell, they were barricaded with blades made of silver. If Pinra ever attempted to escape, she wouldn't be able to run too far along before getting caught, that was for sure.

"There. This is much better," his mother beamed. "Hopefully, she'll feel better once she gets settled in her new prison here. It's nice that she can finally have some fresh air and get some sunlight."

Gilas let out another sigh. As much as he didn't approve of the new additions, his mother just looked too excited for him to try and stop her. He could only watch as she diligently did the best she could to make Pinra's house arrest as comfortable as possible for the woman.

"We'll transfer Pinra here in two days' time," Gilas reminded. "I'll be going ahead now, Mother. I still have to pick up Clara from Cordon Castle, and we'll be staying at Ryder's Manor for the night,"

His mother nodded, and Gilas went to do a few last-minute arrangements for the manor's upkeep. After giving a few words to his men, he then quickly shifted into his wolf form and headed back to the castle.

Gilas made great haste towards his destination. Tomorrow was a big event at the Midnight Pack, from what he could recall. Calypso was going to fight off his challengers so that he could finally formally seal and announce his position as the new Alpha of Midnight Pack to the whole kingdom. As such, Clara also had to be present as the host of the event. She was its former Alpha, after all, and as her husband, he should also be there.

Somehow, just the thought of being there with her already made him smile like there was no tomorrow.

[You've been on cloud nine ever since you completed the Mate Bond,] Ham teased

He couldn't even deny it. Indeed, he had been in a good mood ever since they did the deed. Everything felt so perfect in his life now that he still couldn't even believe if it was really a reality or if it was all merely a dream.

[I've never felt this blissful and content before in my life, Ham…] Gilas hummed as he urged himself to run faster so that they could finally see his woman. [How can I not feel like this?]

Soon enough, he arrived at his destination with quite some time to spare. He immediately shifted back to his human form and put on his clothes. He then went straight to Clara, but not before stopping by the inner courtyard and plucking out some red roses for her. It made him slow down a bit, but it was more than worth it.

After all, he loved how much she blushed whenever he gave her red roses, so why not take some time to give her exactly what she liked?

With a small bouquet picked out for his mate, Gilas stood back up and made a beeline for Clara.

[Where are you?] he asked through their mindlink as he continued to walk through the hallways. He made his way to where he knew Clara would usually be during that time. The sun would be setting soon, which meant that she must already be finished with her work.

[I'm inside the bedchamber resting a bit,] Clara mumbled. [My eyes are burning from all of the paperwork earlier.]

Gilas chuckled. It couldn't be helped since the trusted men meant to do those tasks were currently busy.

[Wait for me there…] he hummed.

He promptly rushed towards their shared bedroom. His smile practically overflowing, he found himself frowning when he went inside and saw how Clara was lying on their bed. Slowly walking towards her, he blinked.

"Clara, are you sleeping?" he murmured as he gently sat on the edge of the bed.

His mate didn't respond. She looked tired, and it seemed that she had dozed off after talking to him.

Leaning closer, he couldn't help but give her a stolen kiss. It should've only been a simple peck on her cheek, but he ended up going for her lips instead. And of course, he couldn't help himself but deepen the kiss, his tongue trying to probe inside her lips even as he fought the urge to just lay on top of her and take her that instant.

His actions didn't go unnoticed, however. Just as he was about to move, Clara moved awake, making him quickly back up and shake his head.

"Sorry, I woke you up," he quickly apologized.

Instead of the response he expected, Clara smiled at him as she moved and sat on the bed with him. She rose an eyebrow as she spotted the flowers, a curious glint appearing in her eyes.

"Are those for me?" she asked.

Clara didn't dare hide the sweet smile carving itself onto her beautiful face. She felt like all the tiredness her mind just encountered a while ago had been washed away from merely seeing Gilas with those beautiful roses that he would often pluck for her.

"I will need to buy more vases from Freya at this rate," she jested as she looked around for where she could place the roses.

"Let me arrange it for you," Gilas commented as he grabbed the roses he had just given to her, inadvertently pricking himself by accident. "Ouch!"

Clara frowned upon seeing how he had hurt himself on the roses' thorns. Shaking her head, she murmured, "Hmm… Careless…"

Smiling, she grabbed his hand and unknowingly sucked the blood off the finger where he got pricked. Gilas moaned, and Clara lifted her gaze to look at him. He was hot, looking completely aroused with her just from sucking on his finger. Clara didn't know what came over her then that she playfully licked his finger inside her mouth, sucking on it hard while treating it like the sweetest candy she had ever tasted.

"Are you trying to kill me with your teasing?" Gilas breathed out in his hoarse voice.

Instead of answering, she moved and sat herself on his lap, straddling him.

"So what if I am?" Clara teased further. "You sure look like you're enjoying it anyway."

Gilas breathed hard as she further played with his finger, her eyes looking at him in a way that promised more than just teasing would be happening to him in the very near future. There was no way that he'd be able to stop himself if she was acting like this. Then again, if what she was doing right now was any indication, would she even like it if he stopped himself?

"Clara…" he groaned out, his instincts screaming at him as he pulled out his finger in favor of giving her the kiss that he oh so wanted. "Is this what you want? Making me go insane and crazy for you? Oh heavens, Clara, I love you so much…"

"Gilas I'm already falling in love with you," she weakly scoffed into his lips. "It may not be as strong as your love for me just yet, but I'm definitely getting there…"

As in further response, Clara then invaded his mouth with her tongue, somehow overpowering him as she did her best to not let him fight back. It didn't last however as Gilas took charge of the situation, spinning their bodies in such a way that they fell onto the bed below with his mate pinned right below him.

"Gilas…" she breathed out, her flushed breaths making her look even more scrumptious than she already was.

"So I still have a ways to go for you then," he breathed out, his gaze boring straight into hers as he pinned her down by the wrists. "How deeper do I have to go in you for me to fully embed myself into your heart?"

Defiantly, Clara smirked despite her shaky tone. "H-How about you go ahead and find out?"

Gilas's eyes sparkled at the perceived challenge. Here she was, all but presenting herself to him without even much of a fight, and yet her words still managed to try and put up some sort of wall for him to climb.

"I'll make sure to do exactly that then," he growled.