The Crown's Entrapment

That same day, Gilas didn't waste any moment longer seeking out Jayra for help with Ham. Of course, Clara insisted on accompanying him as both of them rushed to Cordon Castle.

"So you can still feel him inside of you, and it happened after Lady Clara marked you?" Jayra asked. "Can you communicate with Ham then?"

"Yes, he's here. I can feel him, but I can't communicate with him for some reason. I..." Gilas trailed off, trying to find the words that could properly explain what he was feeling. "I know he's here..."

He was honestly starting to doubt his own words. He was sure he could feel Ham, but how come he couldn't talk to him or shift even to his wolfman form?

He felt Clara's hand on his and he turned to look at her.

"That's alright. We don't need to rush everything," Clara comforted. "How about we observe the situation a bit more? I'm sure Ham will eventually return to you..."

Gilas could only answer his mate with a weak nod before turning his gaze back to Lady Jayra. The mage was now staring keenly at him as she seemingly thought over his current ailment.

A few beats passed, and Jayra let out a long deep sigh of frustration before she spoke. "I honestly don't want to give the two of you false hope about this." she explained. She then quickly added, "There's a possibility that Ham could still be within you. Of course, if he remains as weak as this, then he might eventually fade inside your body. I believe that Ham gave all of his energy to you to restore your body."

"I-I don't understand," Gilas weakly uttered. He could feel a tightness growing inside his chest.

"The poison that snake gave you was very deadly. None would've survived it, to be honest. It was meant to destroy everything inside your body till you turn into dust, but your wolf Ham managed to preserve every part of your body, making sure that it was well protected to prevent the poison from destroying it," Jayra further explained. "From what I can gather, Ham used up all of his power for it, endangering his own life inside your body just to keep you safe. It was actually one of the reasons why I managed to save you. I had to choose between you and Ham, and Ham wanted me to save you instead."

Gilas's body trembled as he fought the tears that were welling up in his eyes. "I swear I feel him..." he murmured.

"The Bond... It probably gave him some energy when Lady Clara marked you to form another Mate Bond..." Jayra stated. She then blinked as a thought seemingly came to her. "Hold on..."

Gilas watched as Jayra closed her eyes. She then uttered a few chants but ended up quickly opening her eyes once more as she hastily caught her breath.

"Are you alright?" Clara asked.

Gilas saw the sudden trickling of sweat forming on Jayra's forehead as she spoke. "This won't do. I don't have sufficient energy to fully assess you right now," she weakly sighed. "It'll take me a week to regain enough strength for it... I'm sorry..."

"It's alright, Lady Jayra. Please don't push yourself too much," Gilas commented in understanding. "We'll try other healers and see if they can help."

"But I'm the best in this kind of field," Lady Jayra snorted. She then added, "Well, you can probably try my mentor. Hold on... I'll need to write him a message. You see, he's quite elusive. But if he knows that you're my friend, then he'll attend to you with the utmost care. He'll be here in a rush if I give him a head's up..."

"Is that alright?" Gilas asked. "I mean, we can just travel and go where he is if it means not inconveniencing him."

pǎпdǎ Йᴏνê1,сòМ "Oh, no need. I want him to go here anyway and visit me since he missed my wedding day," Jayra waved his worries off with a scoff. "He was on a mission during that time, leaving him unable to attend. But I heard he's back at Ebodia now, so I'm sure he'll come..."

Gilas nodded in understanding. He simply watched as Lady Jayra wrote her message before then clipping the parchment onto her pigeon.

He was so occupied with the sight before him that he flinched when Clara suddenly squeezed the hand that she was still holding onto. Turning to her, he gently smiled to reassure her that he was feeling fine. Honestly, he still had mixed emotions about everything that had happened at that point. He was so devastated by losing Ham, but he was still grateful for Clara who had stayed by his side and had even vocally expressed to him how much she loved him. Really, he should be rejoicing, but he simply couldn't because of his lost wolf.

No... He couldn't accept it. Ham was still with him, and he still could feel him inside him.

[Ham, please... Stay strong. Hang in there if you can hear me. I'll bring you back healthy and stronger than ever. So please don't give up just yet,] Gilas pleaded to an unresponsive Ham. [I won't give up on you, do you hear me? Our mate already expressed how she loves us, so you should be here to experience it with me. Don't just leave me like that... I beg you. Please... I won't forgive you if you left me as easily as that!]

"Gilas..." Clara whispered.

Gilas felt his mate pulling him into her arms. He didn't even notice that he was already sobbing and crying as he tried to reach Ham in his mind.

Not that it wasn't a common occurrence to him already. He had been like that for the two days that he was gone... talking and reaching out to his inner wolf nonstop, hoping that things would change. He knew Ham wouldn't like how he was coping in his absence, so when Clara reached out to him that morning, he tried to be his normal self for both of their sakes.

It wasn't easy, but he was trying his best to remain strong knowing how he was already worrying Clara. He could feel her emotions right now, and he didn't want her feeling sad like this because he was being too emotional.

"I'm sorry..." he sobbed into her arms. "I... I can't help it..."

"Shhh... It's alright. I'm here for you," Clara reassuringly hummed as she gently stroked his back. "We'll get through this together. I'm sure Ham will stay strong and come back to us..."

"I am so sorry," Jayra whispered behind him. "You two arrived here so hopeful, and I..."

He lifted his head and quickly dried his tears. "Please Lady Jayra, don't say that. You helping us like this is more than enough," he reassured her. "I know we shouldn't expect too much of you, but it's just that I couldn't help but be hopeful..."

"Yes, we can all hope that Master Kasper can fully restore Ham inside of you," Jayra replied with an awkward smile. "He's a healer of all types of living creatures in this world. I'm confident about him... even if he sometimes has this peculiar way of choosing his patients..."

"I will do anything as long as he can restore Ham inside of me..." Gilas firmly stated.