The Crown's Entrapment

At Silver Crescent Pack

Nasser was almost near his manor when he received a telepathic report from his men that Gilas had arrived outside with Lady Clara.

[Should we let them in, milord?]

[Let them wait in the waiting area,] Nasser instructed. [Don’t let Gilas inside the mansion till I arrive.]

Shaking his head, Nasser grunted in annoyance. “What is he up to this time?”

Gilas was seriously testing his patience. It was getting harder and harder to hold his reign over him with each passing day, and he just knew that his son would try something one of these days.

‘Was he at least able to get Clara onto our side?’_.

At the thought, a smile curved onto his face. Clara or Freya were one of the best choices that his son could get for themselves. Either of the two would be fine for his plans, and he could only guess that his son simply chose to pursue his mate. That was understandable, seeing as the King would definitely not allow a union between Gilas and his sister.

Nasser was very vocal in his opposition ever since Darius’s reign began, and a marriage between them was as unlikely as the moon turning green. And besides, they all still thought that he still couldn’t accept the fact that Darius won over his son.

And just as usual, Nasser flinched as he gritted his teeth at the thought. He had been waiting for so long for their pack to finally reign over Cordon, but the Moonlight Pack and its lineage of Alphas over the years had always been a threat. Their very existence always made their pack play second fiddle for every Battle of the Throne!

“Such a shame…” Nasser chided. After Lucian, Darius was next in line. He had to eliminate the man for another Battle of the Throne to commence. From there, he could only hope that his son would finally manage to uplift the Silver Crescent Pack to the throne.

He wouldn’t dare to face their ancestors as a failure, as his own father would always say. He was far from a failure, and he would achieve his goals while he was still breathing. By any means, he would make the Silver Crescent Pack rise above all the other packs as the bearer of the throne of the Kingdom of Cordon, or he would die trying.

******

“How come, we’re here and not inside the mansion yet?” Clara questioned Gilas as they took a seat inside the so-called receiving area of the Keen Manor.

Gilas chuckled, “Unfortunately, I’m a stranger in my own home ever since I failed to win the Battle for the Throne against Darius. Father is apparently still mad at me even after all those years…”

She frowned and mumbled, “But it’s been ten years already. Are you saying that you still don’t have a place here? Is that why you’ve been staying in Cordon Castle all this time?”

“Apparently, yes. Well, aside from the fact that it’s more practical to stay inside the castle anyway, what with not needing to travel back and forth to do my duty in the Capital City as the great Constable of our Country,” Gilas explained with a shrug.

“I also have a Manor of my own here in our pack anyway. I’m the Alpha of the Silver Crescent Pack after all. It’s just that I’m sadly off limits to the Keen Ancestral Manor since it’s my father’s territory. As you can see, it’s strictly being guarded by my father’s men.”

Clara’s face contorted as she voiced her thoughts. “Huh? You have a weird family relationship. Now, I understand why you need me to visit your mother. With your father’s greed, he will surely be delighted to see the Alpha of the Midnight Clan hovering around you like this,” she shrugged.

She hummed as she added, “Hmm… I guess I wouldn’t mind it since it’s a give-and-take relationship. You’re the second best in the whole kingdom; just below our King when it comes to fighting skills. So I should learn from you rather well.”

“You don’t sound like you’re happy about having me as your choice since our King will obviously train his mate instead,” Gilas commented with a grin, though deep inside, it hurt hearing those words from his mate. Either way, it wasn’t the first time that Clara unintentionally stabbed him with her words anyway. He should really be immune to it by now.

A lull in the conversation settled between them as Clara shrugged. After a while, she murmured out a few thoughts of her own.

“Elder Nasser is really something,” she casually voiced out. “How can he forbid you from entering the Keen Manor when you’re still a part of the family? This is just insane.”

“Hmm, every family has its story, Clara,” he replied with a genuine smile. “Either way, I’m still grateful that you came with me like this, even agreeing to come visit here with me to go see my mother in the future.”

“Like I said, it’s nothing,” Clara clarified. “It’s just a mutually beneficial relationship, Gilas. It’s not like I’m doing this for free, alright?”

Once more, another stab pierced itself into his chest, Clara pointing out that she only did it out of obligation still hurt despite his own self-reassurances.

After a few more minutes of waiting, Elder Nasser finally arrived.

“Clara? This is a surprise,” he casually noted as he promptly ignored his own son. “What brings you here?”

[Is he really your father?] Ham hissed from within Gilas’s head. [Shouldn’t you be asking your Mother to confirm whether this arse is your sperm donor?!]

Gilas could only sigh and inwardly chuckle at his wolf’s sentiments. Not that they didn’t have any merit, at least. Ever since he was born, he had somehow never considered the man before him as his father figure.

All his life, he grew up doing all the things his father instructed him to, and yet he still couldn’t feel the love and care that he longed for. Instead, one wrong move could have him being given out an equivalent punishment from him.

Things have changed since his Father could no longer hurt him physically, at least. However, that still didn’t stop the man from exploring his weakness instead… Now, it was his Mother that was on the line whenever he failed…

Unfortunately, not following what his father wanted would mean not seeing his own mother. All these years, he lived with this kind of arrangement, and he honestly didn’t know how long he could last.

And as much as he wanted to, ending his father’s life was never an option for him. A human mate would die if the mate who marked her died… So in the end, he had to make sure his father lived, just for him to be with his mother for a few more moments.

“I would like to visit Lady Shila,” Clara answered with a smile. “I’ve heard from Gilas that she wasn’t feeling well lately, so he invited me over, thinking that being in the company of a lady like me will lift his mother’s mood.”

“Is that so? Then who am I to deprive the great Alpha of the Midnight Pack in this thoughtful act?” Nasser smiled. “Come with me. Also, I’d be glad if you two joined us for dinner. I’m sure Shila has prepared something special tonight, as she always does whenever she thinks about how her son might come to visit her at any time.”

Gilas inwardly sighed as he saw his father grinning at him. He knew very well the meaning behind those words. As always, his father never failed to torture him if not physically, then emotionally.