The Crown's Entrapment

As soon as the western contingent had arrived, Gideon immediately instructed his combined army to prepare for a thorough search in and around the forest. They didn't leave a single space untouched, and he made sure to keep everyone at a respectable distance to avoid getting ambushed.

"Make sure to look for hidden caves!" Gideon ordered.

They went about their search for hours. Dawn would soon come, and Gideon was getting frustrated.

"Commander, we spotted a hidden cave…" one of their best trackers reported.

In that instant, Gideon and Freya went in the direction they'd been pointed at. They quickly arrived, and already, things were looking hopeful.

"There's a spell protecting the cave," Gideon murmured with a creased forehead. It didn't look like a cave at first glance since it was covered with plants and bushes, but the presence of a spell meant that somebody was present within it.

Freya's lips curled as she gasped, "I'm sure they're in here," Freya smiled as she gasped. "No wonder we had a hard time finding their tracks. They hid themselves well…"

Gideon could only let out a long deep sigh of relief. They were fortunate enough that the enemies hadn't managed to pass through this location yet. Knowing that he was grateful that they were able to engage in battle early before having their enemies pass through this part of the forest. If they hadn't… it would've been too late.

After all, even if there was a protective spell and barrier protecting them, the black witch accompanying Helion's army would've been able to see through it and enter this hidden cave.

"This spell is way weaker against the black witch I killed, Freya, so they might as well be out in the open," Gideon pointed out. "They're lucky that we came in at just the right time, because if not…"

Gideon grunted at the thought of anything bad happening to Aurelia. His dear sister had already endured enough, and he didn't know what he would do should he would lose her in a place like this.

Marching into the cave together with Freya and a few of their men, Gideon kept his eyes peeled for any signs of their missing countrymen. He was feeling anxious as he walked inside, only for his jaw to drop at the sight before him…

"Aurelia! Calypso! You get off my sister this instant!" Gideon burst out as he marched towards the two.

It was borderline scandalous. The two were cuddling up against each other in the dark, they were caught off guard by his sudden appearance.

Aurelia, who was in her shallow sleep, instantly opened her eyes at the intrusion. But unlike Calypso, whose face paled upon seeing Gideon flaring his nostrils marching towards their direction, Aurelia immediately got out from his arms and flew towards her brother's direction.

"Brother!" Aurelia burst out as she pounced on Gideon, wrapping her small arms around him and tightly clinging onto him as she sobbed. "You came… You actually came…"

Gideon, who was just furious a few seconds ago, instantly turned soft the moment his sister hugged him. Hugging her back, he comforted her by stroking her back as he said, "Hush now, my little sister... I'm here now. I'll make sure that none of this will ever happen to you again. You're safe now."

Meanwhile, getting back up on his feet, Calypso simply stared at the two siblings hugging each other without a care in the world. He was frowning, and he knew that he really shouldn't feel jealous of his mate's brother.

"Here, get yourself properly dressed."

Turning to the source of the voice, Calypso only saw Freya as she handed him some proper clothes that fit his size to fully cover himself up. Quickly dressing himself, his eyes never left Aurelia as he unknowingly voiced out, "Something feels off."

"I know, right?" Freya replied, currently standing beside him as she answered.

Calypso turned to her with knitted brows.

[They're not related by blood after all. But one thing I can assure you is that it's not my mate that feels off, but his sister…] Freya telepathically replied to him in annoyance.

Calypso could only watch as Freya walked towards the two. She then offered Aurelia her own coat to keep the latter warm. Shaking his head, he saw Freya quickly take his mate Aurelia away from her mate Gideon.

It also didn't come unnoticed how Aurelia seemed displeased about being taken away from Gideon.

[That's more than brotherly love,] Axel pointed out. [Look into her eyes. Freya was right. No wonder Aurelia was being aloof. Her heart already belonged to another man.]

Calypso cursed under his breath. Things were getting more complicated than he had initially thought. The only consolation he had was that Aurelia's love was far beyond her own reach. It was an advantage on his part, and yet it still left a bitter taste in his mouth thinking how his own mate was currently thinking about another man!

He was interrupted from his own deep stupor when Gideon grunted, his glare quickly darting towards him to level against the man's own.

"You! How dare you take advantage of my sister!" Gideon accused, making Calypso lift an eyebrow at the man before him.

"I simply gave her the warmth she needed since she's been shivering all night!" Calypso firmly replied. "Still, I'm willing to take responsibility for this incident. I want to mark your sister, Gideon."

This time, Gideon's eyes widened. He looked taken aback, but there was no way that Calypso would back down on this. The man had already accused him of something, giving him the opportunity to turn this situation around in his favor.

"Your men saw us, and I'm sure this incident will spread like wildfire," Calypso remarked. "You know my reputation with women. No man will think that nothing had happened between us. I want to mark my mate and claim her, Gideon."

"Mate?!" Gideon blurted out.

Calypso nodded as he firmly stated, "Aurelia's my mate, and there's no way that I'll let her be with another man unless I'm dead…"

"You…"

Gideon's face was turning bright red, but Calypso simply ignored his negative reaction as he sighed.

"Look, if you're worried about me chasing after other women, then I swear to you right now that I won't lay a hand or even look at any other woman except for your sister," he sincerely declared.

"Aurelia's my mate, and I'm being serious and genuine in my intentions about her. I'll do everything that you and your family might want, Gideon, just so that you can accept me as her mate."

"It's not for us to decide!" Gideon barked out before turning around to leave. "If Aurelia doesn't want it, then you can't force her, Calypso! I will put you in your place if need be!"

"I understand. Of course, I won't force Aurelia. I'll convince her," Calypso firmly declared.

[And how would you do that?] Axel inwardly scoffed. His wolf was becoming more frustrated than he was right now.

[I'll make her fall in love with me,] Calypso shrugged. [How else should I go about it?]