The Crown's Entrapment

Xenia shivered in her sleep. Beads of sweat formed on her face as she moved restlessly in her dreams. Letting out a soft moan, she felt as if she was about to fall off when she suddenly jolted out from her sleep.

"What was that?" she whispered out, panting hard as she sat upright. Placing a hand on her chest, she was still catching her breath when she tried her best to gather her bearings.

She just had a dream that she never thought she'd ever get in her. Her face reddened in embarrassment as she murmured, "it's just a dream… But it felt so real… And why would I even dream of something like that?!"

She frowned at the memory, displeased with the kind of dream she was just given.

Looking around, her frown deepened further when she just realized that she was on a comfortable mattress inside a small tent, one that could only fit two people of her size. Quickly gathering her bearings, Xenia steeled herself as she went out of the tent.

"Darius?" she whispered out, only to be surprised as she saw Darius sitting on the side of her tent, his back against it as if he was guarding it. Looking back, she thought about how she could easily identify the Werewolf King no matter what state he was in. It was probably because he was the only man by far that she saw with silver-colored hair.

Hearing her, the King quickly got up and turned to her, flashing her a studly and cocky smile as if he expected her to address him. Xenia felt her heart hammer inside her chest as she blinked, finding herself staring blankly at his dashing face as she took in his features. Her eyes honed in on his face, a few strands of his loosely gathered hair hanging lazily behind his tied-up hair.

Desperately trying to get a hold of herself, Xenia gulped hard, her throat feeling so dry that she wanted to grab a drink for herself. And if that wasn't enough, the dream she just had a while ago suddenly flashed through her eyes, her verdant green orbs widening in disbelief.

Meanwhile, Darius frowned as he noticed her reactions. He was about to touch her face when she suddenly flinched, unconsciously stepping back away from his reach.

"Apologies," Darius commented, still studying her face closely. "I just wanted to check your temperature since you don't look too well."

"I am fine, Milo- Darius," Xenia stuttered, hastily correcting herself as she continued. "It's just that I had a bad dream, and I'm kind of dazed from it…"

She immediately scolded herself for acting like such an amateur. This wasn't the first time she talked to the man. Why in the world was she so nervous?

"A bad dream?" Darius curiously asked. "Like what?"

Xenia's face paled as she bit her inner cheek. It wasn't a bad dream at all. What she had was an erotic dream, and there was no way in hell that she would share it with this Werewolf King!

"It's just about this war we're about to face…" Xenia plainly replied, trying her best to hide her awkwardness with a smile.

Darius smiled at her words and casually commented, "Well, next time, you should dream about something else…" He hummed, "How about having a dream about you and me? Or at least recalling how you made me suff-"

Xenia's body froze as she stared at Darius, her curious eyes making the man stop talking. Finding her courage, she asked, "I made you what?"

"Hmm… Never mind," the king waved her off. "Anyway, why don't you stay inside. I'll bring you something to eat. You're probably just hungry."

As he quickly stood up and left her, Xenia could only watch Darius's retreating back as she wondered. 'He sounded like he knows something? Should I press him harder about it when he comes back?'

It was a decent idea, but she quickly dismissed the idea thinking that it won't do her any good in the process.

Letting out a breath of air, she looked around once more. It was already dark out, and their group had lit a fire that gave out just enough light to illuminate their small camp.

They were already outside the borders of Ebodia, camping within cover of the nearby forest. As she recalled, they left around noontime, which meant some time had passed before she finally woke up.

"I slept too long…" Xenia sighed. She felt stronger, at least, but thinking about the dream she had a while ago only made her feel weak again. Weak, and a bit disturbed.

"Yes, you did, Milady," Jayra chimed in, suddenly appearing beside her as she teased. "The King was very thoughtful, you know? Making sure that you got enough rest and all that. I guess he's seriously into you. After all, you're his mate."

"Ughh… I still can't believe it, Jayra," Xenia sighed. "Don't you think it's quite unfair? I mean… I'm his mate, apparently, but I am not sure how to… reciprocate with this whole idea. Especially so when we don't even share the same traditions."

Jayra chuckled, "It's not that hard to follow, Xenia. A mate for werewolves? That's just another term for lifelong partner for us humans."

"There's a difference, Jayra," Xenia exasperatedly corrected. "What if I'm just his mate and not the love of his life? We can choose to love the person we want, Jayra. For me, love is always a choice, not fate… But in their case, it seems like this Mate Pull decides their partner for them."

Jayra shook her head as she scolded, "Ah, this is why you shouldn't skip important classes, Milady. See how little you know about werewolves?"

Xenia turned and frowned at Jayra, "Explain."

Jayra chuckled as she began, "Well, werewolves also have the choice to reject the Mate Pull if they wanted to. I've heard some real-life stories about it as well, so it should be real. Rejection can also happen when the feelings between mates are not mutual. It's supposedly very painful for a werewolf, and some even died due to the intense and painful emotions it could cause."

She then sighed and continued, "Although some werewolves could fall in love naturally without the Mate Pull. There are also cases where they experience the Mate Pull when they already had someone in their heart. In the end, some still choose the person they fall in love with instead of their so-called mate, while others will simply choose their actual Mate."

She sagely nodded, "There are different cases of it, you see. Not every werewolf is blessed to experience the Mate Pull, and not all werewolves experiencing the Mate Pull end up having mutual feelings for one another."

"Ughh… You just made my head spin, Jayra," Xenia complained. "And that's why I hate attending boring classes such as that. Nevertheless, I guess I should make the most of how my life should be from now on. I could probably make things somehow workable between Darius and I."

"Things will definitely work out, Milady," Jayra reassured her with a giggle. "I can see how much the Werewolf King is into you."

"No wonder many die from delusions, Jayra," Xenia scoffed. She wouldn't want to be delusional. It was always best to stay in the safe zone for now.