The Crown's Entrapment

Meanwhile, Jayra was just grateful that Bartos was around so that she could quickly escape the situation. Leaving her friend to deal with her mate was kind of in bad taste, but she was sure that Xenia could handle herself just fine.

“Do you think they’ll be fine?” Bartos asked as Jayra dragged him out of the king’s sight. “His Majesty looked anxious just now.”

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing too serious,” Jayra replied with a giggle. “King Darius is just jealous at seeing how his mate is drooling over naked men that’s not him.”

“He wasn’t alone though,” Bartos pointed out. “You and Princess Xenia shouldn’t be watching them like that.”

Jayra stopped walking and was about to pull her hand away from Bartos when the latter suddenly tightened his grip on her. Lifting her brows at Bartos, she questioned, “You mean you’re also jealous? How come you’re not reacting like that earlier back when I was with Princess Freya?”

She had only found out about that particular spot in the training grounds because of Princess Freya when the latter pulled her out of the library for a stroll. The princess said that she would show her something that might kill her boredom every once in a while, and to her credit, it did kill some of it by virtue of eye candy.

At first, Jayra was too flabbergasted to watch. She was even embarrassed since Bartos was there. But seeing his nonchalant expression when he spotted them, she thought that it was alright for them to be there. He even greeted her and Princess Freya back then. How else was she supposed to interpret that?

“Of course, we don’t want to watch our mates drooling and ogling their eyes off to other men. I simply couldn’t comment on it at the time since you were with Princess Freya earlier, and now with Princess Xenia,” Bartos fumbled out with pressed lips. “Doing so in front of them would be inappropriate. Instead, I thought I would just simply talk to you about it over dinner.”

Jayra couldn’t help but smile at his reactions. He was just too adorable despite his calm demeanor. She wondered about how King Darius wasn’t as considerate as Bartos in that and simply interrupted her and Princess Xenia from their sightseeing.

As if reading his thoughts, Bartos spoke aloud. “King Darius is in a high position enough to react that way in front of Princess Xenia and get away with it. As for me, it would be inappropriate for me to do so…” he explained. “However, if you were alone and watching, then expect the same thing from me. I might even drag you out of the site myself.”

“Fine. I’ll look forward to that then,” Jayra scoffed with a mischievous grin.

Bartos frowned as he exclaimed, “Are you saying that you’ll watch us training like that again?”

“Why not? It’s fun to watch,” Jayra nodded and beamed. “Besides, I get to see you too while you’re commanding your men. Also, it’d be better if you’re also naked while you command your troops.”

Bartos blushed and seeing such a sight only made Jayra want to tease him further. He seemed to be controlling his emotions quite well, at least.

Seeing his adam’s apple bob, she could only chuckle as he frowned and deadpanned at her. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you. Teasing me.”

Jayra chuckled and simply winked at him. There was no answer needed for him to tell that it was a yes.

Bartos let out a sigh before he started walking again and said, “Let’s grab dinner.”

“Are you always this calm?” Jayra inquired.

“Yes,” Bartos simply answered.

Jayra giggled to herself. She could tell that he was mad, and she wanted to test his patience even further.

“I’ll watch you train your boys every day. Will that be okay?” Jayra innocently asked.

“No, but who am I to restrict you?” Bartos answered with a cold resignation in his tone.

Jayra didn’t comment further. Instead, she simply looked at his hand that was currently holding hers.

“It’s still too early to eat dinner. How about we go for a stroll at your favorite spot in the castle?” Jayra suggested, breaking the awkward silence.

“My bedchamber is my favorite spot in this castle, Jayra,” Bartos commented.

Jayra smirked at the obvious bait and said, “Then bring me there.”

Bartos refused to say a word as he simply continued walking. Seeing his silence, Jayra continued on with her observations. She was getting to know Bartos more, and so far, she was liking him more and more with each passing day.

They stopped at a particular door, and Bartos turned at her and asked, “Are you sure you want to go inside?”

“Will I be in danger if I go inside?” Jayra asked with a grin.

Bartos knitted his brows and answered, “That depends on your definition of danger.”

Jayra hummed before she replied, “I’m curious, so let’s just go in.”

Seeing that she wasn’t budging, Bartos acquiesced and let her go inside.

Looking around, his bedchamber wasn’t as big as Princess Xenia’s, of course, but it was still big enough and a whole lot tidier compared to hers. Behind her, Bartos simply observed her as she explored his room. And even now, Jayra could feel that he was still mad at her.

Sitting on the side of his bed, she looked at him and patted her side. “Come here,” she signaled him to sit beside her. Once he did, she then asked, “Are you mad?”

“I am,” he admitted.

“Alright then. I won’t watch your naked men anymore… That is if you tell me why you fainted when I gave you a kiss all the way back then,” Jayra bargained. She was still dead curious about the incident, but Bartos just plainly ignored her whenever she would ask about it.

As usual, his face reddened like it normally does whenever she would ask about that incident. There was a moment of silence before Bartos finally confessed, “That was my first… And I just simply became too nervous for me to handle it. I often pass out whenever I get like that.”

“But you didn’t pass out when you stole that one kiss from me before,” Jayra curiously pointed out.

“That’s because I initiated it,” Bartos quickly explained himself. “I mean, I was prepared for it. It wasn’t like back then when you suddenly kissed me.”

“I see,” Jayra nodded in understanding. She then turned to look at him closely and asked, “How about now? Are you nervous?”

“Just a bit?” Bartos answered with a questioning tone to himself, a line appearing between his brows.

“Oh?” Jayra smiled. She then naughtily added, “I guess that’s expected. I want to kiss you, after all.”

Without any warning, she leaned closer to him with her lips at the ready. As she moved ever so closer, she heard Bartos murmuring out to her, “You’ll be in danger.”

“Just kiss me and let me be the judge of that then,” Jayra protested with a pout. She heard werewolves were aggressive, so she wondered why Bartos seemed to be the opposite of that trait.

“It’s not a good thing for us to be alone here while I’m kissing you,” Bartos appealed.

“And why is that?” she naively asked.

“I might end up taking you and marking you, Jayra. My self-control isn’t that good yet,” he confessed. “Please don’t ask me to be intimate with you if you’re not sure if you’re ready to willingly give yourself to me already.” He then quickly stood up and added, “I’ll be going outside now. I’ll wait for you by the door.”

Mouth agape, Jayra could only watch as Bartos left the room. She rapidly blinked, still utterly in awe at how the situation eventually unfolded. However, her shock was soon replaced by a loving and adoring smile on her lips as she whispered, “I shouldn’t let this man wait for too long. He might miss me…”

She squealed at how her life was going. This was truly some of the more exciting moments of her life.