The Crown's Entrapment

"Are you sure about this?" Gilas asked Clara once she had informed him that she would personally accompany Bella back to the place of the incident.

"Yes. I know how Bella's mind works. Even if we won't allow her to leave her chamber, she will definitely find a way to leave and look for Osman on her own," Clara explained. "It's best that I stay with her just to keep her in check. She's still unstable at this point, and I can only imagine the worst if any of the search efforts wouldn't give her good results…"

Gilas deeply sighed and simply nodded at her. They were currently, outside Bella's chamber, Aurelia having come with them to check on Bella. They were there to make sure that everything with their friend was fine, and soon enough, the door swung open for their physician friend to come out.

"She's physically fine for now, but her mind is very unstable at the moment," Aurelia remarked before handing Clara a syringe. "Here… Use this on her if things get out of hand. This will help her calm down by making her lose consciousness."

"Kind of extreme, isn't it? Still, I'll keep it in mind," Clara humorlessly replied before quickly grabbing what Aurelia just handed to her. She then looked at Gilas and said, "Prepare the men to accompany us. I'll go get Bella…"

Gilas nodded once more before watching Clara get back inside Bella's chamber. After a few moments, he also left to prepare his best men to escort the two women. While he wanted to go with them, he still had to go back to the castle and assist Calypso in overseeing things throughout the kingdom while their king and Queen participated in the search for Calypso. Not to mention the pending transfer of Pinra.

After all was said and done, Gilas personally sent off Clara and Bella with his men before leaving the Hindman Manor to go straight to Cordon Castle himself. By the time he arrived, the sun was already shining brightly above him.

[Spring is coming…] Ham excitedly hummed. [You did well… I'm so happy that you finally completed the Mate Bond with our mate. I'm so proud of you, being a part of you and being your wolf is a privilege I wouldn't dare replace with any other.]

Gilas frowned and scoffed, [What's with those serious words? You make it sound like you're about to leave me…]

Ham chuckled and teased, [And what will you do without me, huh? You're stuck with me, so don't worry. I'll never leave you even if you wanted me to.]

This time, it was Gilas who chuckled. He could never imagine his life without Ham in it at all. His wolf was a part of him, and it also defined who he was as a person. Truly, he couldn't ask for a better wolf.

[I'm very grateful that you're my wolf as well, Ham,] he sincerely stated. [You're right… I can't even picture myself without you. So you and I… Let's have a good life together for as long as we can.]

[Of course. Also, don't forget to mention our mate. Let's enjoy and live a good life with our mate… is what you should be saying,] Ham excitedly beamed. [Clara might not be able to express it in words yet, but I'm sure you feel it too. We are so close to conquering her, don't you agree? You're almost there!]

Gilas almost let out a soft chuckle when he was taken out of his musings.

"Glad you're finally here!" Calypso snapped at him as he passed him by the hallways. "I'll be out for a while to pick up my mate."

Gilas shook his head as Calypso patted his shoulder before rushing out of the castle.

"Huh… Who would've thought that Calypso would only be looking at one woman once he returned here to Cordon?" Gilas murmured.

[That's the power of the Mate Pull,] Ham remarked. [It's a blessing, and like you, he's one of the lucky ones to experience it.]

Gilas could only nod in agreement to his wolf. Still, he couldn't think about it too much since he still had a job to do. Currently, he was on his way to his post when a guard telepathically informed him of his mother's sudden arrival in the castle.

"In the dungeons?" he murmured with a frown.

Knowing where his mother went, he immediately walked in long strides to try and cut her off. He was well aware of how she once visited Pinra, but how came she hadn't informed him of her intention to see her again?

"This is dangerous…"

He mumbled to himself as he rushed towards his mother. Before long, he finally caught up to him, only to see that she had her servants behind her carrying a lot of different things that he could only assume were food and possibly supplies of some sort.

"Mother," Gilas called.

Startled, Lady Shila turned to him with an awkward smile. "Son, you're here…"

The frown on Gilas's face deepened as he retorted, "Mother, visiting Pinra this often isn't advisable. She's still dangerous…"

Shila shrugged as she reasoned, "What harm can she do? She's chained and locked up inside a cell, Gilas. I just want to check on her every once in a while and give her a few things… Some comfort while she's locked up.

"But Mother. We all know how dangerous Pinra is," Gilas insisted. "Clara had a point when she said that the possibility of Pinra merely acting like this isn't completely zero. What if she really has something planned out? I'm just worried about your safety…"

"Look, I promise I won't go inside her cell, alright? I'll just have a few casual conversations with her and let the guards bring in the things I prepared for her inside her cell," Shila reassured him. "I just want her to get cleaned up and have some nice clothes to wear. You do have proper female guards to attend to her, right?"

There was a moment of deafening silence as Gilas kept silent. With a sigh, Shila added, "Please… Let me show Pinra some goodness. I believe it will help her if she actually receives proper care and feel the real goodness of a family." She reasoned, "We both know that none of us were able to provide it to her since Nasser purposely isolated Pinra to poison her mind. She's just a victim, and Nasser played a big part in why she grew up on the wrong path."

She took another breath before she continued. "Let me at least do something about it. I know it's a bit late, but it's worth a try," she explained. "Pinra has no one but us now. I'm not saying that we simply let her get away from all the crimes she committed. One way or another, she still has to pay the price for all her actions. But…for now, she's sick and she needs our help… So I am willing to give her all the help I can offer…"

Gilas could only sigh in defeat against his Mother, whose smile widened upon seeing his self-explanatory reaction.

"Thank you, Son," Shila smiled. "I'll do my best to keep myself safe, alright?"