The Crown's Entrapment

"This is your lucky day 'My King'. Don't worry because I will not abandon you." Xenia murmured as she tried her best to carry them to safety, sweat pouring out from all over her body as she traversed the wilderness.

Looking at the sky, she noticed that the sun was about to set, meaning that she should hurry in trying to find a safe location for her and Darius to hide.

Xenia grumbled as she looked around for food and other things that could be useful. As much as she wanted to stray on her own for more mobility, she couldn't just leave Darius behind due to her spell lasting well till the morning.

As such, she had no choice but to get everything she needed along the path before she found a safe place she and Darius could settle into.

"Ah… See… It's a good thing I had that training with you, Brother!" Xenia patted herself on the back as she walked.

"Father should see me now…. I'm sure I can proudly tell him that joining those hard training sessions with my Brother was so much better and more knowledgeable than learning proper etiquette and sewing for a princess… Damn… I won't even be able to apply all that boring stuff in situations like these," she uttered in confidence.

The silence woven in her surroundings was getting to her, and talking to herself was a way of comforting and consoling herself through the current hardships she was facing.

Truly, Darius's hefty weight was too much for her petite body to carry. She could almost feel her limbs getting numb from all of her efforts!

"Fruits?"

She whispered to herself as she spotted a fruit-bearing tree. Stopping right in front of it, she grabbed some of the fruits and secured them in between Darius's arms together with some of the sticks and dried leaves she managed to forage.

Moving on, her eyes brightened when she spotted a cave just after a few more minutes of walking.

"Finally…"

Pulling Darius's body with her, Xenia quickly made a beeline for the natural shelter. She didn't mind how tired she was at the moment. All that mattered was that she made her way towards the cave and finally rid herself of the burden, which right then was carrying Darius around.

Arriving at their destination, she looked around and the cave seemed safe enough at first glance. Xenia immediately wanted to rejoice as she saw another boon in the form of water droplets dripping off some parts of the cave walls. It was good news. As long as they had water to drink, then they would be fine.

Immediately, the princess prepared a much better spot for them to rest, letting Darius lie down in a comfortable position as she checked on his wounds and addressed them with some of the herbal leaves she spotted along the way.

Supposedly, werewolves would heal on their own eventually. But since Darius was hit with a poisonous arrow, it would probably take him a bit more time to wake up than usual. If her calculations were correct, then he would probably wake up at around noontime tomorrow.

"Well, that's one problem down, at least…"

Xenia took stock of the situation. She was shivering hard, but unfortunately, she didn't want to create a fire that could give away their location.

"Ah, this is so unbearable…" she mumbled out loud. Being cold was already bad enough, but when she suddenly heard a rumble of loud thunder, she could only curse to herself. How unlucky they could be?

"Oh, please… Don't you dare rain. Do you want me to die from the cold?" Xenia gasped as she unconsciously moved closer to Darius.

As their skins touched, she flinched at the sudden heat. Darius was so warm that she unconsciously found herself touching his chest with her palms.

Xenia gulped, blinking in shock as she stared at Darius's naked body before her. From what she had heard, werewolves had naturally warm bodies.

"Ah, maybe I can snuggle into him. It's really cold and freezing," Xenia murmured.

Her body was far from being like Darius's body. She couldn't stand the cold, and she was already feeling extremely chilly. Surely, her body heat would soon drop if she let the situation continue as it was.

No longer overthinking, Xenia quickly laid beside Darius. Snuggling into his body as close as possible. She even moaned in contentment as she felt the satisfying warmth radiating off of him. She didn't mind how naked he was against her anymore, even going as far as moving her arm over to hug his body.

"Ah, this feels better than eating any kind of food," she sighed, her eyelids becoming heavy. "I'm so tired that all I want is to rest..."

Outside, the roaring thunder continued to echo out, heavy rains buffeting the area around them. Thinking about safety, Xenia uttered yet another spell, casting just enough of a barrier to serve as defense and protection while she and Darius rested.

The spell, however, consumed almost all of her remaining energy and she blacked out.

*****

Meanwhile, Darius woke up in the middle of the night, sniffing out his mate's pleasant smell in his deep sleep. And seeing as it was impossible for anyone else to be with him at the moment, that body was definitely Xen's.

Already, he could clearly smell the intoxicating scent that made him lose his mind just now. Xen's body felt so soft, and he really didn't want to let him go.

He wanted to open his eyes, to move his body, but he couldn't. The poison in his body was still preventing him from doing much, and yet he could still feel his mate's soft body rubbing against his. With his remaining strength, Darius pulled the soft body closer to his, embracing it tightly.

He was just glad that they were still together like this. Xen didn't lose him. And with that thought alone, a beautiful and content smile appeared on his sleeping face and lingered there as he drowsed back to deep slumber.