The Crown's Entrapment

Darius inwardly cursed. He was hurt by what Xen had said to him. And yet that feeling was quickly dismissed as a roguish smile curved onto his lips.

He could smell it. It was a strong and sweet smell like no other, and she only had said smell during that night. The smell of needing to be touched by him… It was intoxicating… So much so that it penetrated his insides.

He inwardly growled at the sensation. Even now, he could feel and hear the erratic beating of her heart; her very soul attempting to sync with his despite her best efforts.

[Why is she still denying it?] he inwardly thought.

[You should remind her how she relieved herself using your body,] Zeus impatiently retorted. [Corner her. Make her yours.]

Darius let out a sigh, not bothering to respond to his inner wolf as he rode on. Even now, his arm was still wrapped possessively around Xenia's waist, and it would take a miracle before he'd willingly let go of her.

Hell, their current journey should only take them a day, but he almost wanted it to last longer just to have Xen in his arms like this. He was dying to touch her right there, without a care about their surroundings or even those that might want to watch!

"We're moving slowly…" Xen murmured out.

"Ah, I'm glad you agree," Darius whispered over Xen's neck. "I'm just dying to move faster around you, Xen." Without so much as a warning, his lips lightly brushed against the skin of her neck. He couldn't control it anymore, and he was starting to do things a man of his stature really shouldn't be seen doing.

"I can smell you so well. The heat wafting off you is almost the same as last time, and it's so heavenly and wonderful in my nostrils," Darius breathed out, his lust going wild as he continued. "I don't know when you'll remember it, but the way your lips and body brushed against mine that night was absolutely exquisite. I want to do more than that with you… for you to crave and yearn more of me, Xen. I want to lick every part of your body till you scream my name over and over… I want to-"

"Stop it. What are you doing?" she hoarsely whispered, her grip on his arm tightening as she addressed him. "I don't know what you're saying. I can't follow you, my King. So please…"

Darius paused for the briefest second, letting Xen say her words before he replied.

"Relax, Xen. As I promised, I will behave and will not do anything against your will," the king taunted, his grip on the reins tightening so hard that his knuckles turned white.

"You're forcing words in my ears right now," Xen retorted. "That's against my will!"

"Hmm… Is that so?" Darius chuckled without a care in the world.

"Would you rather have me put my words into action, Xen? As I've said time and again, I'm dying to do it with you, and I'm not even sure if I can control myself much longer, especially when I can feel and smell how you perfectly burn for me."

Hearing the king's words, Xenia already knew how deep in trouble she was getting herself into. Closing her eyes, she bit her lower lip in contemplation.

Darius could already smell everything about her, and it was clear that she'd only look ridiculous the more she kept denying her feelings. And yet… There was simply no way she would ever admit to it.

Her pride demanded that she preserve her dignity, and keeping her silence was the least she could do not to lose face.

"War is coming…" Xenia reminded Darius, trying her best to divert the topic. "I can't believe that a ruthless Werewolf King can waste time for this kind of meaningless talk. We're already moving slowly as it is, and I would like to see my brother, who I'm sure is already worrying about our delayed arrival."

"Hmm… There's no need to rush. I'm sure your brother is more than capable enough to handle the first blow on his own," Darius cheekily reassured her.

"King Stephan has already discussed to me your brother's plan to meet the enemies and ambush every platoon of Helion's armies. It would cause them to scatter in all directions, making it easier to surround every available entrance and border they might enter. I do applaud them for coming up with a valiant and fearless move," he commented with respect.

His face suddenly twitched, recalling how King Stephan was grateful that his son had someone reliable by his side like their Great Constable Atlas. "Ah, right… Your kingdom has a great officer like that Atlas!" he unknowingly scoffed.

Gideon had already telepathically reported to him everything he found about the man, and he found his credentials amusing despite everything else.

[You're a King! Don't feel insecure!] Zeus inwardly scolded.

[I am not,] Darius scowled back.

[Right… Is that why you're so interested in the man? You even wasted time mentioning his name right now,] Zeus pointed out. [Just forget about that man and continue seducing Xen. Don't even bother mentioning his name again!]

Darius's face darkened at Zeus's hostility, but he kept his silence intact. He wasn't in the mood to quarrel with his inner wolf, and there were better things to do with his time at the moment.

"Constable Atlas is indeed one of our greatest heroes. He contributed a lot to our Kingdom and its prosperity," Xenia respectfully pointed out. "He is one of the few men I look up to with the highest respect possible. Apart from my father and brother, of course…"

"Hmmm… Am I not included among those you look up to then?" Darius unknowingly voiced out.

"You've saved my life several times, my King," Xen answered. "I owe you my life. And I…"

Darius's eyes widened upon hearing her words. He had said his thoughts out loud, and he had no other choice than to man up and use it to his advantage.

"I will make you look up to me then. Not just with respect as a human being, but also as your mate… Your man…" Darius declared, his voice filled with determination.

[Redundancy… You've been making a lot of verbal declarations,] Zeus mocked him, its tone belaying its lack of patience. [What you need is action.]

While Darius was busy placating his wolf, Xenia, on the other hand, was rendered speechless by how the Werewolf King had seemingly become absolutely shameless with his words. Then again, she guessed that she should expect more of this moving forward, seeing as he was desperate to win her over as his mate.

Opening her mouth, she wanted to say something in reply, only to back out as she simply couldn't find the right words to say. Instead, she tried her best to calm her frantic beating heart, hoping that doing so would help her with her current situation.

It was then that Darius suddenly stopped, the horse trotting in place as he quickly relayed, "There's an enemy ahead."

"What?!" she gasped, turning her head only to see two wounded wolves coming from Gideon's direction.

"Looks like they're also blocking all possible routes for reinforcements…" Darius grunted with gritted teeth. "They've been hunting down any wolf they come across, knowing that I could get enough information from them to compromise their plans."

"What should we do, Sire?" Gideon quickly asked. "They have the greater numbers compared to ours along with a dark witch manipulating the undead. We only have a few knights, and all of them are human."

Thinking back, there were only twenty knights with them, and Xenia even insisted on not bringing more with them since she was more worried for her parents. As a result, they were left on the back foot with only a few knights to reinforce their position.

"Taking a detour would be more dangerous. The only path we can use is the Forbidden Forest, and doing so would be a death sentence," Bartos commented.

Darius grimaced at their options. Entering the Forbidden Forest was like seeking death. More often than not, those who entered never came back.

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June 25, 2022 Author's Note:

I'm not supposed to release a chapter today but let's thank our dearest Malificent_Ch0u for the Magic Castle... *kisses and hugs*