The Crown's Entrapment

Freya was speechless. She gulped hard as she thought of a good alibi to answer Gideon's question. While she could always just tell the truth, it was way too embarrassing to admit that she was reading lewd books in her spare time.

"Uhmm… It's a woman's thing, you know… when women talk…" he answered with an awkward smile. "Besides, I think I should be more knowledgeable in such matters anyway so that I can please you better in the future." She then stood up. "Now come. Let's get ourselves cleaned up. We're too sticky to be decent right now."

Immediately after her suggestion, she then quickly rushed to the private privy. Gideon chuckled, and he soon followed after her as soon as she was done and had properly covered herself up.

Now clean, Freya immediately crawled back to bed, waiting for Gideon to finish cleaning up and getting dressed. "Are you going to sleep here with me?" she asked when Gideon walked towards her.

"I just wanted to cuddle…" Gideon quickly defended. "I'll try my best to control myself, refraining from doing more than just cuddling you, Sweety…"

Freya no longer commented as she let her mate climb up to her bed. She honestly didn't mind at all if he would do more to her, but she supposed that he did make some sense with his logic. Soon, Gideon fully joined her on the bed, pulling her into his warm arms as he did exactly what he set out to do.

"How was it?" Freya suddenly asked.

"Hmm… What do you mean?" Gideon asked back. "You mean the hand job you did? It was great!"

"No, not that!" Freya blushed as she quickly corrected him. "I mean having an adoptive sister. Were you alright with it from the start?"

[Ah, here you go again with your insecurities,] Yal scolded her. [You and Gideon are already mates, so why are you feeling worried about the woman?]

Freya tried her best not to think about Gideon's sister, but the stuff she did keep replaying inside her head… Aurelia's eyes… how her eyes looked at Gideon... It felt like it just wasn't how a sister should look at her brother.

[So? Does it even matter?] Yal pointed out. [What matters is that Gideon's eyes only have you to look at. Goodness…]

Freya tried her best to fight the urge to laugh at her wolf's words. Still, she did have a point.

"Hmm, it's not a big deal to me since Aurelia and I basically grew up together back when her parents were still alive," Gideon shrugged. "She's always been here in the manor, and the two of us would always play and spend some time together. Either way, I've been acting like a big brother to her even before my parents formally adopted her as a lady of House Everett."

"I see," Freya nodded in understanding. "She allowed Mother to change her surname?"

"Well, it's for her own good. She was still young at the time, so she didn't have a say in it anyway. She's just five then, and for her security, Mother gave her the title of the Lady of House Everett," he explained further.

"That way, she can marry any noble she wants without her background being questioned, even if she isn't blessed to feel the Mate Pull. Then again, Aurelia is more human than werewolf, so she'll probably won't experience the Mate Pull."

Freya hummed at his words. A few moments later, she hesitatingly asked, "Didn't it occur to you that she… uhm… might have feelings for you in a different way? As in, not only in a brotherly kind of way?"

Gideon moved so he could look at her, and Freya bit her lower lip at how intensely he stared at her at that moment.

"What?" she weakly murmured, regretting the fact that she even asked her question. However, she felt like she would go crazy thinking about it if she didn't spill it out.

Gideon narrowed his eyes at her. With a pout, he mumbled, "I would feel flattered, probably even be happy if you acted jealous towards another woman… But Freya… we're talking about Aurelia here."

He sighed, "She's my sister. Yes, we don't share the same blood, but in my heart, she'll forever stay as my sister, and I'm sure she also feels the same way. So don't ever think like that again, please?"

Freya gave Gideon a timid nod. Yal was right. She shouldn't think too much about it anymore. What was important was that Gideon's eyes were for her and her alone… And right now, his eyes only sparkled whenever he was looking at her.

"I'm sorry. I won't talk or ask about things like that again," she apologetically sighed. "Maybe it's just that I'm feeling jealous of her since she's the closest woman to you. After all, you've spent more time with her than anyone else, and the fact that the two of you aren't really siblings kind of made me think…"

Hearing her reasonings, Gideon pinched her nose as he said, "Hmmm, stop that. Aurelia and I have probably spent more time together than I have with you. But that's only for now… As of now, you and I will be spending more time together. Besides, we have a lifetime being together left, Sweety."

Freya blushed hard at his words, and she couldn't help herself as she moved and leaned in closer to him so she could give Gideon a kiss… It was a sweet kiss, but he immediately pulled away from her in favor of hugging her tightly.

"Oh heavens, you'll make it hard for me to control myself if you'll be sweet like that," Gideon painfully murmured. "I'll have to chant and distract myself to calm myself down now, so please behave, Sweety. Close your eyes. Go back to sleep."

At his request, Freya buried her face into the crook of his neck as she whispered, "Are you leaving again tomorrow?"

"Yes, I would. Your brother needs me back at the castle," Gideon hummed as a yes. "Do you want to go back there with me? Honestly, the Queen Mother just talked to me this morning, and she asked me to keep you here for a while. Add to that, Darius also wanted the same…"

Freya grumbled to herself. She knew why they were requesting as such. Although she was currently staying at the Black Claw Pack Territory, she was still well-updated in regard to the current happenings in their Kingdom.

Her brother Darius didn't want her to see him suffer alongside her sister-in-law due to the Mate Bond sharing their experiences throughout the trials. Likewise, her mother would also be very busy assisting her brother. And she…

Freya let out a deep sigh as she said, "I want to go back with you and do what I can to assist Mother and Brother pertaining to either court matters or the tournament." She had a pout as she scoffed, "I am the Princess of our Kingdom, and I know I can do a lot more than just get protection all the time. I'm already a woman, and I can handle responsibility…"

Gideon chuckled. "Hmm, I see that, my Princess. Let's sleep and rest for now then," he nodded. "Tomorrow, we'll travel together, however, you'll be riding on my back instead. You see… I've been anticipating you riding me for a while now."

Freya hit Gideon's chest, knowing full well what his words meant other things with a dirtier nature. The latter only chuckled before he kissed her forehead and whispered her to sleep. "Goodnight, Sweety. I love you."