The Crown's Entrapment

Gideon's jaw dropped as he watched his king leave, his back retreating away from them as he went back to Xenia's tent and sat there as if he was guarding his most precious treasure.

Quite frankly, it was a jarring sight to see.

"Damn… I honestly never thought I'd witness our king reduced to this state, Bartos. I mean, his eyes are constantly only roaming around Xen. He's so possessive that he looks like a lovesick puppy," Gideon lamented.

"He even bothered to have a tent arranged for her while everyone else slept outside." He sighed, "It's only a good thing that he listened to Jayra about how it wasn't advisable to build a bigger tent inside the forest."

Bartos simply grunted by his side, seemingly content with doing his job as he let his companion rant.

Gideon clicked his tongue as he continued, "Goodness! Who would've thought that he had this side in him? I still remember how he used to tease and mock our comrades about how ridiculous they looked and acted around their mates… And yet here he is… acting more unbearable and worse than some people I've actually met."

"Then tease him like you always do," Bartos scoffed. "That should get him down a peg."

Gideon shook his head, "I would love to tease him, but I still value my life." He then swerved topics as he asked, "By the way, should I talk to the wolves? Or do you want to do it instead and relay the messages?"

Bartos kept his silence. Turning to him, Gideon frowned as he noticed how his companion seemed to be too focused on a particular direction. Curious, Gideon slowly let his eyes follow Bartos's attentive gaze.

"Huh, you seem to stare at Jayra often," Gideon raised an eyebrow as he commented. "She's one pretty young woman indeed, and interesting to boot… But aren't you someone who vowed to never look at any other woman except for your mate?"

It was a memory Gideon distinctly remembered. He even recalled Leon asking Bartos what he'd do if he happened to not meet his mate in his lifetime. In response, the latter simply answered that he'd just remain alone, without a mate.

Thinking on it, Gideon's eyes slowly rounded as it dawned on him. His eyes shifted back and forth between Bartos and Jayra as he murmured, "No way… Are you telling me that Jayra's your ma-"

Before Gideon could finish his words, Bartos suddenly sprang onto him and covered his mouth with his calloused palm.

'"Ghgggg Nggg…..!"

"Shhh! You talk loudly!" Bartos harshly whispered. "I swear I'll snap your neck if you don't keep your voice down!"

Gideon nodded, blinking as he let the man relax. Although he could've easily wrestled Bartos off of him, he didn't want to cause a scene. Instead, he let the man slowly loosen his grip on him. Once he was free he gave his companion a deadly glare filled with annoyance.

"You dare lay a finger on me?" Gideon scoffed as he rubbed his mouth, wiping off some of the dirt that came from Bartos's hand. "Are you that uncivilized?"

"What?!"Bartos hissed.

Letting out a sigh, Gideon simply shook his head before he flashed a cunning smirk. "If you want to win your mate over, then you can start by being extra nice to me, my friend…" he chuckled. "You see, you need to learn more about winning a human heart."

"And… what? You're saying that I'll learn that from you?!" Bartos mocked. "Hah! As if I'll take romantic advice, from someone who's also loveless and inexperienced."

"As if you have a better choice," Gideon laughed. "Then why not try asking our King for help instead?"

Bartos growled at his friend's suggestion. "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"Well, it was worth a try," Gideon waved Bartos off before he took on a more serious look. "But seriously, are you sure she's the one?"

Bartos only gave him a frustrated sigh as he helplessly whispered, "I wish I was wrong. Humans are the most complicated beings for me to tackle, Gideon."

Gideon tried his best to control his laughter. After all, seeing their mighty Bartos looking so pained and frustrated was a rare sight to see.

"And you dare scare her off with your glare? You shouldn't look at your mate like that, Bartos," Gideon chided. "You should look at her with tenderness and love like our King. Try not to frown at her all the time."

Bartos's face fell even further. He just couldn't help how he looked. It was how he naturally was. He was rough and rude; completely blunt to the core.

Taking his friend's silence as his cue, Gideon shook his head as he jested, "Hmm… I honestly don't know how to help someone who is hopeless, my friend. It would've been much easier if your mate was a werewolf too."

He shrugged, "Who knows you, at least you won't need much effort, right? How about just staying single your whole life? Reject the mate pull somehow?"

"Stop joking around!" Bartos snarled. "Just go, will you? You're not helping. Go talk to the wolves instead…"

"Alright, I'll be going then," Gideon chuckled. "You know, just go for it, Bartos. Approach her and just talk to her nicely. It's worth a try just being gentle if you want to win her over. Female humans like tenderness and being treated nicely, after all."

Bartos didn't reply. He simply glared at Gideon, making the man leave him alone as he walked away. His laughs still reached his ears, however.

Shaking his head, Bartos cursed as his eyes immediately darted back to the young mage. The intoxicating smell he was getting from her was too much.

He was a beast, and fighting off the urges he was having at the moment was getting harder by the minute.  Plus, his own pain was only added on by the fact that he didn't know how to approach a female human.

'I'm doomed…' he inwardly scowled, followed by another round of cursing as he considered just rejecting the pull and being done with it. Although it was nothing but a joke to Gideon, every agonizing second he spent just made the option all the more enticing.

Once more, he looked at Jayra, watching her closely as she sat near the campfire while everyone else had already gone to their own places to sleep. She was the only one left still awake, and Bartos wondered why she wasn't sleeping yet. She lifted her head, and their eyes suddenly met…

Bartos scratched his head and cursed when Jayra smiled in his direction. He attempted to smile back, but he wasn't confident enough that he'll do a fine job. So instead, he ended up giving her a slight nod.

To his surprise, Jayra then suddenly stood up as if she was walking toward his direction.

"What is she doing?" he alarmingly whispered to himself.

Panicking, Bartos quickly turned around and followed Gideon into the forest.

[Wait for me! I'll go with you!] Bartos telepathically called out to his friend. Ignoring the urge to stay behind, he practically ran inside the forest, his heart still beating loudly as he tried to escape from his urges.