The Crown's Entrapment

Watching yet another body being dragged out off the stage, her face dimmed when she turned to see the number of the injured and dead in the tabulation that was displayed for everyone to see go up yet again.

Clara noticed that some participants were also fighting to the death aside from Pinra. Some of them were determined to be the queen, while some could also be some of Nasser's pawns. She did notice that those participants belonged to smaller packs and that some of them had the same movements as Pinra had as if they were trained in the same manner for efficiency and deadliness.

It was expected though. She was decently aware of the secret organization Nasser had to himself since the King was closely investigating the matter with Calypso's help in the shadows. But before any more progress was made, she was sadly pulled out from the operation the moment Darius had removed her from her position as the commander of Moonlight Archers.

Clara let out a long deep sigh. She had heard Calypso had already returned, and that they managed to kick Emer, one of Nasser's men, out of their inner circle. She could only hope that Darius would succeed in bringing down Nasser if only to get rid of such a despicable man from their lives.

With that thought, her eyes darted towards Gilas, who had just announced all of the confirmed representatives of each pack before leaving with a few words.

"As is tradition, we'll downsize the numbers down to only twelve participants before moving forward to the finals for the Trial by Combat. The finals would then determine the last woman standing to be the rightful owner of the crown to be Cordon's Queen," he declared. "The next schedule will be posted the moment the trials of The Princess of Ebodia inside the Element Forest is completed."

[You're acting weird lately...] Sheba suddenly commented.

[Am I?] Clara replied back, followed by a deep sigh.

[I'm liking how soft you've been acting lately, like how you're also worried about Gilas and his mother, not to mention how you just apologized to Bella a while ago...] her wolf pondered.

[It would be nice if you went ahead and also backed down to save us the pain of fighting. Look how bloody it could become, seeing as Pinra apparently has a lot of minions like her that are willing to kill...]

[Look, I told you already that there's no more turning back now, Sheba. We can't let Pinra or any other of Nasser's minions win this trial...] Clara firmly reiterated. [We need to be here till the end...]

Despite everything, she still wanted to help Darius even from the shadows. Nasser was obviously planning something in this tournament, so she needed to stand by to try and see if she could stop it from happening.

'If only Gilas would help Darius...' Clara inwardly thought. With his help, maybe then it would be easier to bring Nasser down.

[I think you of all people can convince Gilas to help Darius while at the same time, saving our mate from his father as well,] Sheba suggested. [How about you strike a deal with Gilas and offer yourself to him? I'm sure he'll do everything for you. He'll choose you over his rotten father any time...]

[How many times do I have to tell you that this is Gilas's own fight?] Clara stressed out.

[But he's our mate, Clara, and the man is torn right now,] Sheba insisted. [Can you even see how much of a dilemma he's in right now? It's written all over his face.]

At her wolf's insistence, Clara snuck glances at Gilas once more. Sure enough, she noticed just how haggard he looked as if he hadn't had enough sleep for quite some time. Things must be difficult for him, especially when his mother was also involved.

[I'm telling you... If you really want to help Darius till the end, then strike a bargain with Gilas. That way you can help the man you deeply love and also be with your mate at the same time,] Sheba voiced out.

[It's like striking two birds with one stone. What more do you have to lose? Darius is already beyond your reach, and our mate is all we have now. So what if he's been playing into the safe side? It's because he has his reasons to be like this, and I have this strong feeling that it involves his mother.]

Clara could feel her inner wolf's emotion towards Gilas, and it wasn't something she could refute. She and Sheba were one and the same, so there was no way she could outright deny her.

As if fate had other plans, Gilas got down from the stage and quickly walked towards her.

"You should get yourself cleaned up," Gilas commented. "Go home and rest, Clara. The next round's going to be bloody..."

"Would you like to go out and have dinner with me?" Clara suddenly asked, and she immediately saw how Gilas's face flinched at the unexpected offer. "I also wanted to talk to you," she added. "If that's alright with you..."

She wanted to know the truth from Gilas himself. What was it that was bothering him? Was Sheba right in her assumption that his mother was involved in all of this? She wanted to balance everything out and give him the benefit of the doubt. It was only then that she would know if she could use Sheba's suggestion... to offer herself for Gilas for him to form an alliance with Darius instead.

"Are you sure about that?" Gilas finally found his voice after just staring and blinking at her for a full minute.

Clara had a faint smile. "Of course. You know me enough."

Gilas nodded and said, "Alright. It won't take long then. I'll be with you in ten minutes."

"Alright, I'll wait..." Clara answered.

From there, she watched Gilas walk away towards Gideon. He then soon went back to her and said, "Let's go."

"Are you sure you can leave now?" Clara asked with a frown, seeing as Gilas was currently the one managing the tournament. "Don't you need to wrap things up?"

"Don't worry about it. Gideon owes me one, so he'll cover for me just this once, " Gilas said as he started walking out of the arena.

"Hmm, I see..." Clara nodded, and the two of them got inside the carriage for the trip to her home which was located on the west side of the Capital City.

They sat beside each other, and Clara held her breath when Gilas suddenly leaned in and touched her cheek. "You still have a bloodstain here..." he murmured.

Quickly, she moved away and said, "It's alright. I'll clean up quickly before joining you for dinner."

Sheba was right... She could feel the Mate Pull from Gilas's touch alone. The instinct was strong, and there was no way she could deny it even if she tried. As Sheba would always say... she should stop being a hypocrite and just accept reality.