The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia let out a sigh as she kept her composure inside the carriage. It wasn't like she could kick Darius out of the carriage anyway, so she simply kept her silence.

"How are you feeling?" Darius asked.

Xenia returned his stare and promptly replied, "I am good, Milord."

"Hmm… Darius…" he corrected.

"I am fine, Darius." Xenia nonchalantly answered.

"Good," the king nodded. "It's not like we're strangers to each other, Xen. On that, I'm sure you won't disagree."

Xenia fought the urge to click her tongue. The Werewolf King was right yet again. In the short period of time that they were together, they've actually been through a lot. They've even experienced a life-or-death situation together despite their best efforts.

The princess let out a small breath. Since the two of them were together in the same space with no way out, she might as well ask Darius her questions.

"I already called you Darius, and I will continue addressing you by your name going forward," Xenia neutrally declared before she came in with her question. "Although, can you tell me since when did you find out that I'm a woman?"

Darius almost cracked a smile as he replied, "That day when I woke up in the cave and went out to look for you. I accidentally saw you taking a bath in the-'

"What?!" Xenia cut him off, her face glowing deep red as her eyes shot daggers at Darius.

'Does that mean he saw me naked?!' she inwardly cringed in horror. She absently hoped that she was wearing some semblance of clothing back then, but her memories showed that she was indeed naked at the time.

As if reading her thoughts, Darius casually said, "Yeah. I saw it all…"

Xenia was rendered speechless at what she just heard. Embarrassment flowed through her as her horror peaked at that exact moment.

"You peeped at me," she murmured. "How dare you…"

"I most certainly did not," Darius firmly defended himself. "Like I said, it was an accident seeing you naked like that. I was also stunned at the time. You were like a Goddess, and I was so mesmerized by the sight of you, Xen. If not for that deer interrupting you, then I might've ended up just watching you bathe," he bluntly stated.

'What is wrong with him?' she inwardly complained, her blush starting to reach critical levels as her heart fluttered beneath her chest. His words… It was so unlike him… She was caught off guard by his sweet words that she didn't know what to say. And his intense stare…

Shaking her head, Xenia voiced out, "You already knew but you didn't say a word?"

She stood her metaphorical ground, trying her best to keep her composure and act calm despite her feelings going completely haywire. It wasn't like she could reasonably scold the Werewolf King by 'accidentally' seeing her bathe in that water pool.

It was an open area, and it was her fault for letting her guard down like that thinking he would be still unconscious. What, did she expect him to wait for her inside the cave without so much as moving?

Hearing her words, Darius let out a sigh and replied, "I didn't say a word because I thought you had your reasons for disguising. I'm not sure why I kept my silence about it either, but I guess I simply wanted to wait for you to open up to me at your own pace."

He then added as she kept her silence, "Frankly, you don't know just how much grief you put me through while hiding your gender. I simply couldn't believe my wolf, Zeus, unless I confirmed it myself that you're a woman. So when I finally saw the truth with my own eyes, I guess that's the only thing that mattered."

He shrugged, "As such, I no longer confronted you about it."

"But you don't believe in tradition," she retorted, her lips pursed as she frowned. "Why would you bring up the Mate Pull like that back in the meeting?"

Darius's lips curled as he gravely said, "Tell me, Xen, would you rather marry Nikolai than me?"

Xenia gulped at the stony expression, the seriousness that emanated from him almost smothering her along with that tightness in his eyes. Such a look could force anyone to answer him right away. However, Xenia didn't want to give him what he wanted so she kept her mouth shut.

"Xen…" he repeated.

"I believe I don't have a say on anything about marriage," she gave out, her noncommital emphasized by her neutral tone.

"It's simply not up to me, Milord. The decision on who I should marry or not falls to my father, the King. Although, it baffles me to hear you bring up the topic of mates a while ago. You clearly stated last time that you don't believe in those traditions…"

"Yes, but that was the case before you came into my life, Xen," Darius confessed.

Hearing his words, Xenia blinked at him in disbelief.

There was a cunning smile on Darius's face as he continued, "From what I'm seeing, you look like you don't believe a single word I say, Xen."

"If so, then let me make it clear to you," he stressed out. "Yes, the Mate Pull is strong, b-"

The king's words never left his mouth as Xenia felt the carriage suddenly come to a stop, causing her to bounce onto Darius who instantly caught her in his arms.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

"Everything's fine," Darius reassured her. "There's just some kid who suddenly crossed the road, so the carriage suddenly stopped."

"A Mindlink?" she inquired.

"Yeah," Darius confirmed with a smile. "I asked Gideon, and he supplied me with the details."

"Ugh… I feel dizzy all of a sudden…" Xenia whispered, making Darius secure her in his arms, cradling her in his lap like a baby.

"That doesn't mean you can hold me like this," Xenia weakly murmured. "You can put me down."

"Shhh… Relax your body. You're technically recuperating, which is why I didn't let you ride a horse," Darius shushed her. "That poison in your system still left some minor side-effects like this. Don't worry. Tomorrow, you'll be fully recovered."

"But-"

Xenia suddenly pursed her lips when Darius put his index finger on her lips, signaling her to stop talking.

"Sleep some more, Xen. Rest while you can while we're still in Ebodian territory," Darius told her. "We won't get to stop for an inn till we reach the border, so try to take advantage of the peace and rest."

At his words, Xenia was reminded that she indeed felt drowsy as she murmured, "Here? Inside the carriage?"

She saw a naughty smile form on Darius's lips before he cheekily said, "In my arms, Xen. Rest here in my arms. I'm sure you'll find it more comfortable than anything else in this world."

Xenia unknowingly chuckled before her eyelids finally gave in, closing themselves to the world around her and letting her sleep.

Staring at Xenia's beautiful sleeping face, a faint chuckle echoed from inside his head as Darius murmured, "Did I say something funny?"

[You said something cringey,] Zeus scoffed. [I actually didn't think you had it in you.]

[Me too…] Darius mentally sighed.

"Xenia…" he lovingly whispered.

[What do you think sounds better, Zeus? Should we call her Xen still? Or should we call her by her proper name?]

Zeus rolled his eyes. [Why don't you call her the way she wants you to call her...]

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A/N: What do you think Darius should call our stubborn Princess? Any suggestions?