The Crown's Entrapment

Gilas groaned as he woke up in a rather silent room. Opening his eyes, he noted the moonlight shining from the window. It was night, it seemed, and by his bedside, Clara was asleep on her chair.

"Clara?"

His whispers were weak as he sat up. Clutching his head, the throbbing pain was negligible when compared to the sight of his mate nodding off beside him. Even as her head bobbed up and down, her gesture of staying by his side wasn't lost to him.

'Huh, she must be really tired...' he inwardly thought.

...

...

Gilas blinked. The silence was getting more and more awkward and worrying by the second.

'Ham?'

The lack of a response was telling, more so than the fact that he could no longer feel the presence of his wolf inside his head.

'Ham?! Where are you?!'

He was practically screaming inside his head as he hoped otherwise. Unfortunately, only his own thoughts answered him back, the distinct lack of another presence within him only cementing itself further in his mind.

Ham was gone, and he didn't know why.

"W-What the hell..."

"Gilas?"

He perked up as Clara addressed him. He didn't know when or how she managed to sit right next to him, but he didn't care. She was with him now, and yet...

"What happened?" he almost demanded.

"You... Pinra, well, her past self made a contract to kill you specifically," Clara explained. "She... she almost succeeded..."

"But that doesn't explain-" Gilas stopped himself, his tears threatening to fall from both anger and grief. "Continue."

Clara gave him a regretful look as she nodded. "Before you ask, Pinra's already dead, but not in the way that you think."

He gritted his teeth. "I can only hope that's the case, Clara."

"It is, Gilas," she shook her head. "She killed herself out of both despair and repentance... Or so Mother says."

Killed herself, she said... As if that would stop him from cursing her for doing this to him.

"Gilas... It's alright..." Clara soothed. "Let it out..."

Before he even knew what was going on, a pair of arms had wrapped themselves around him. He didn't even know when he started crying, but the warmth he was receiving from his mate did little to squash the grief that was only now growing into a raging storm.

"H-How did it even happen?" he choked out.

"She... The dark magic was potent enough to do so," Clara weakly explained. "At least, that was what Lady Jayra guessed was the reason for it, seeing as Pinra's sacrifice to attain it was to forsake every memory she had of all of us."

Gilas didn't know what to say to that... So... even his own anger had nowhere else to go... This... If what he was hearing was true, then the Pinra that they've been caring for was... was truly innocent...

"And our Bond..." he trailed off.

"I don't know what happened, but I'm sure the others will think of something," Clara cooed into his ear. "We'll fix this, I'm sure..."

"I... I don't even know if that's even possible," Gilas weakly breathed out, his thoughts too muddled by the influx of new developments happening to him. "Ham is..."

His tears renewed their flow. He just couldn't wrap his head around the fact that something so innate to him as his own wolf was gone just like that. The storm of emotions within him was too much, and it was taking all that he could not to force himself to stand and lash out against his own mate.

"I-I'd like some time alone..." he managed to breathe out. "I need time to think..."

"A-Are you sure?"

Gilas simply nodded, and thankfully, Clara nodded in kind as she hesitantly let go of him.

"I'll be here if you need me," Clara mumbled as she made her way to the door. "Don't hesitate to call for me, alright?"

"I will," Gilas nodded.

With a soft squeak, the door closed, leaving Gilas alone with his own thoughts about the matter. Without Ham to talk to, it almost felt suffocating just to be in a room alone with nothing but his own voice.

***

Clara fought the urge to cry as she closed the door behind her. While her mate did his best to hide it, the conflict in his eyes almost made her think that he was going to lose his mind and she could only bite her lower lip as she controlled her own emotions.

With nothing else to do, Clara decided to return to the small funeral that Shila had arranged for what remained of Pinra. Reaching the small room acting as a receiving area, she watched as the older woman oversaw the funeral rights. While it wasn't much, seeing as they were the only two people in attendance, it still felt suffocating as her mother-in-law stared in front of their former enemy's remains.

"You've returned," Shila muttered, her body still facing toward Pinra's remains. "How is my son?"

"He's awake, but he doesn't want any company for now," she regretfully replied. There was a beat of silence before she then asked, "Is... Is this really necessary?"

Clara heard Shila click her tongue before she replied, "Enemy or not, Pinra is still family. And while her past self had done many a horrible deed, her other self had not."

"Even though she almost killed him?" Clara weakly muttered.

"She was a lost child hoping for repentance," Shila firmly replied, her voice barely shaking despite the hollowness of her tone. "We will honor her actions before her passing, not her past that she herself had forgotten."

Clara simply sighed before she joined Shila. Closing her eyes, she prayed to the Almighty for guidance... For her family both old and new to get through these trying times...

"May you find your worth in the next life..." she whispered.

"And may you forgive us for being far too late to see your plight..." Shila added.

Clara sighed. There was nothing more they could do for now. All they could do was pray, and pray she did for Gilas to recover quickly. She pleaded to the Almighty to give him guidance, so that he may fully recover from the harsh blow that had been dealt to him.