The Crown's Entrapment



At Grant Manor, Midnight Pack Territory

Once the news of Black Rose began spreading through the Kingdom of Cordon, steps to prevent its spread quickly began to be put into effect. And of course, once it was discovered that insects were the carriers of this deadly disease, all Cordonians went to work to eradicate potentially infected insects in order to stop the spread of infection. It was about the same time that aids from the other kingdoms began coming in, further speeding up the rate of recovery of the kingdom as it slowly began to recover from the sudden threat.

"Things moved so quickly this past week," Lena sighed as she looked up from her work.

"It always feels like that whenever something important happens," Seth shrugged. He had just finished his own round of disinfecting the room courtesy of Jayra's new disinfectant potions. "Still, I kind of like the smell of this. I might just keep buying this new disinfectant even after all of this is over."

"My apprentice can be rather creative with her potions," Master Kasper smugly commented from the side, casually leaning on the nearest wall as he chimed in. "And I am glad that this threat is seemingly coming to a close rather quickly."

"I… I can't believe it as well," Lena chuckled. "From what I remembered, Black Rose was incurable, and yet Lady Jayra and Lady Aurelia are getting one step closer to curing it every single day. They've even managed to safely put the infected into stasis just so that the disease wouldn't kill them quickly."

It was a miracle. Lena never thought it was possible, and yet it was still happening. Black Rose was about to have a cure, and her brother, who she had heard was infected by the disease just a few days ago, was going to be fine. 

"Still, let's remain vigilant," Seth reminded. "We never know what could happen."

"Indeed," Master Kasper sagely nodded. "We shouldn't be too comfortable even if a cure is on the horizon."

Lena nodded. Still, she smiled as she returned to her work. Surely, this will all be over soon.

*****

At Tornado Pack Territory

"Ughh…"

Calypso groaned as he weakly opened his eyes. His body felt like solid lead as he tried to move, only to almost fail as he fell back down on his back.

'W-What the hell happened to me…' he inwardly groaned.

[You were sick,] Axel filled him in, his inner wolf mirroring his tiredness. [I don't know how it happened, but we somehow managed to contract this Black Rose.]

His eyes widened as he tried to speak, only to fail as his dry throat made it painful for him to even breathe.

[This… This is something else,] Calypso inwardly grimaced as he once again tried and failed to get up from bed. [I've never felt this tired before in my life…]

Still, if he had indeed contracted Black Rose, then the fact that he was still alive meant that they must've found some way to treat the disease. Specifically, Lia must have managed to find a cure of some sort…

'But somehow, I don't feel like I'm cured…'

Once more, he tried sitting up. This time, he barely managed to sit up straight before he inevitably leaned on the bedrest behind him. Still, it was more than enough for him to see what was going on.

"L-Lord Calypso?" a servant greeted him in surprise. "Y-You're awake?"

He blinked as he raised an eyebrow at her response. "I-I suppose I am? Why?"

The servant frowned as she bowed her head. "I recall Lady Aurelia stating that the medicine she gave you should slow down the infection long enough for her to find a cure," she explained from behind the curtain separating his bed from the rest of the room. "She said that it might keep you… unconscious for days, but it will keep you alive."

Calypso's frown deepened at that response. "Days? How long was I out then?"

"You've been asleep for a week, my Lord," the servant replied.

He couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief. For a whole week, he was unconscious and unavailable, leaving both his men and his mate alone to fend for themselves against this nightmare disease.

[This… This shouldn't have happened…] he growled to himself. [I should've been up helping the others through this crisis.]

[It can't be helped,] Axel sighed. [We can only be thankful to our mate for keeping us alive despite the odds. I can only imagine what she went through seeing us in this state.]

And just like that, Calypso was reminded of his mate. Was she alright? "W-Where's Lia?"

"Lia?" the servant hummed. "Oh, Lady Aurelia? She… She's tending to the patients and formulating a cure. She demanded that she not be disturbed unless there was an emergency."

He frowned once more at that piece of information. He wanted badly to see her, to tell her that he was alright and that she shouldn't stress herself out too much. He could barely make her out through their Bond, but he was sure that she was feeling the pressure.

[And I somehow heard her through it all… in my dreams…] he absently recalled.

[She's been talking to you through the Bond despite our former state,] his wolf explained. [We couldn't respond, of course, but some of her words managed to reach us.]

[So all this time, she was hard at work…] he inwardly grimaced. [I have to make it up to her somehow. I should tell her that I'm awake.]

But just before he could try and reach through their Bond to contact her, Axel interrupted him. [Are you sure that would be a good idea?]

Calypso paused, his perpetual frown deepening even further. [She's my mate. She deserves to know.]

[But the servant earlier told us that Lia didn't want to be disturbed,] Axel reminded him. [And you know what kind of person our mate is whenever she's this focused.]

He clicked his tongue in annoyance. Holding his tongue, he sighed as he sank back into bed.

Axel was right. Lia wouldn't want to get disturbed, even if the news were to be something that she'd be delighted about. No, the best way to make it up to her was to surprise her once she visited him. She was bound to do so anyway, and he'd make sure that he was healthier than most once she did so. 

'I'll just rest up and be ready for her,' he smirked to himself as he let his weakness put him to sleep once more. 'I'm sure she'll be ecstatic to see me up and walking when she still thinks that I'm unconscious.'