The Crown's Entrapment

Jayra couldn’t hide her excitement as she prepared to meet Bartos outside of her bedchamber. Today, he would formally introduce her to his family, and she just couldn’t help but feel giddy about such an event. Quickly giving herself one last lookover in the mirror, she nodded at her own job well done before she finally rushed outside of her bedroom.

Sure enough, Bartos was already waiting for her outside.

“Milady, you look so stunning,” Bartos praised, making Jayra blush hard, especially at seeing how intense his gaze was on her with his parted lips.

“Close your mouth, Lord Bartos. You’re drooling over me too much,” Jayra teased with a giggle, making her mate blush even further as he bashfully scratched the back of his head.

Currently, she was wearing a purple long-sleeved corset gown that showed parts of her cleavage, partnered with a tight-fitting hose that she repurposed from her horseback riding outfit.

Bartos had wanted her to take a carriage, but she insisted on riding a horse… for the adventure, she supposed The weather was good out anyway, seeing as winter was coming soon, meaning that there wouldn’t be any scorching heat coming from the sun any time soon.

Jayra would just love to explore around during their journey and have a better view of each town they would pass by along the way. And if riding a horse enabled those wishes, then she’d do so without a second thought.

“Hmm… Did Bella somehow bully you?” Bartos asked as they made their way outside the castle where their horses were being readied._.

“Oh, that? No… I actually find Bella to be of good company,” Jayra replied. “We honestly got along rather well yesterday.”

If she were to be asked, Bella was a bubbly person. She was quite fond of her ever since she met her. The woman was someone who wasn’t afraid to say what she had in her mind, and it resonated with her own ideals somehow.

Jayra unknowingly smiled upon recalling how straightforward Bella was in asking what she truly thought about Bartos.

She would also love to meet Chancellor Talon, Bartos’s father, as well. But unfortunately, they haven’t had the chance to properly be introduced to him yet. Although she was already familiar with the Chancellor by virtue of the dinner where the King formally introduced Princess Xenia to all of the officials as his mate and Queen, she was honestly a complete stranger to the man.

“Why am I doubtful of that?” Bartos questioned.

Jayra chuckled as she said, “Hmm… I suppose like Bella since she’s like an open book. I appreciate her kindness more since it’s easier to read them.”

“She’s quite my opposite,” Bartos murmured, but his words didn’t escape Jayra’s ear.

“Yes, you two are definitely opposites,” Jayra agreed with a smirk.

“So you don’t appreciate my kindness like how you appreciate Bella’s open book-like character then?” Bartos inquired.

They stopped walking just as they reached the outside of the castle. Looking at Bartos, Jayra smiled as she replied, “Of course, I appreciate you, Bartos. You’re an exemption since you’re special. You’re not an open book, but you’re still the type I want to explore more about. So don’t worry and ponder your pretty little head too much about it.”

At her words, Bartos’s face immediately turned into a ripe tomato. Jayra giggled as she asked, “Shall we go now?”

With Bartos silently nodding, Jayra mounted her horse, and so did her man as they prepared themselves.

Giving each other’s horse a small glance, Jayra couldn’t help but sigh. She couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous at how shameless King Darius was with him always traveling with the princess on single horseback.

She wanted to suggest that they do the same to Bartos, but she felt like it would be too much for her to ask of him. She might look like a frustrated friend who was copying every love-like activity her Princess and the King did for them to try.

And with that, she smiled as her thoughts became busy formulating other intimate activities she and Bartos could share during their journey. It wasn’t much, but perhaps she could strut her thing just as well as her friend did.

Looking up at the blue skies, Jayra hummed as she thought about her current predicament. They had left Cordon Castle early in the morning as soon as they finished breakfast. She only changed into her proper outfit for the trip before they truly set off.

She also brought some spare clothes with her since she would be staying there for at least two days, knowing that she also had a mission to know a bit more about Bella as a contender against Xenia.

“How long will it take for us to reach House Hindman?” she asked, pertaining to Bartos’s family estate at the eastside of Cordon where the Lock Heart Pack was located.

“We’ll arrive there come night,” Bartos informed after a few moments of deliberation.

“I see,” Jayra casually nodded before tangentially rambling out about something she had read before. “You know, I’ve studied about the Kingdom of Cordon together with Princess Xenia, and I’ve learned that there are currently ten major packs operating within the kingdom…”

“Right, my pack,” Bartos chimed up at the mention of his family. “The Lock Heart is currently the sixth largest pack in Cordon. Up first is the Moonlight Pack of His Majesty, the second being Gilas’s Silver Crescent Pack, the third Clara’s Midnight Pack, fourth being Gideon’s Black Claw Pack… Hmm… The rest are the Storm Riders, then mine-“

“Heh, it’s alright. Let’s stop there at your Lock Heart Pack since I’m only interested in finding out more about your family,” Jayra chuckled. She then let her curiosity flow as she asked, “Why is it called that?” All names had meaning to them. Surely, there was some sort of story behind the name of his pack.

“Hmmm… Promise me you won’t laugh,” Bartos said with a straight face.

“Alright, I promise,” Jayra promptly.

“Well, there’s some history behind it, although I’m not sure if the stories are even credible enough,” Bartos began.

“The Alphas before were unfortunate when it came to their experiences with the Mate Pull, so they decided to name the pack as Lock Heart saying that they’ll simply choose their partners based on their hearts. They would then supposedly lock their hearts for their partner alone as if to mimic the Mate Pull anyway. Long story short, they would only have one partner and forge a bond that even death wouldn’t be able to separate.”

“Hmm, that’s something,” Jayra shamelessly stated. “It’s not funny though. Very interesting and, must I say, inspiring, but not funny. You know, you should even follow in their footsteps if you want. Lock me into your heart, Bartos.”

It only took a second before the embarrassment of what she just said finally caught up to her. It was only a good thing they were riding on separate horses like this instead of sharing a single carriage. She could at least more easily hide her blushing face from Bartos after letting out such cheesy lines.

“Huh. Now I understand why His Majesty never rides along a separate horse whenever he’s with Xen, and why he would always insist on riding inside the carriage when she’s in it,” Bartos openly complained, making Jayra laugh as she hid the blush on her face.

This was fun, at least. Although, she couldn’t help but regret how she insisted on riding her own horse. It was the wrong move on her part. She should’ve at least ridden the carriage with Bartos where he could easily pounce at her without a moment’s notice.

‘Tsk, why haven’t I thought about it sooner…’ she inwardly scoffed at herself.

It was then that her eyes sparkled as she gulped. Riding ahead of Bartos, she opened her sly mouth to speak.

“Well, Lord Bartos, please don’t feel disappointed now. Who knows? Maybe later, I might let you sleep in the same room as mine,” she candidly expressed. It was definitely not meant as a joke. She meant every single word she said.

“Jayra… Why do you like torturing me?” Bartos sighed. “Please note that I’ll be taking you seriously on this, so let’s hurry up so we can reach our pack in due time.”

At that, Bartos reigned in his horse to make it run faster. Jayra followed suit with a wide smile on her face. Of course, she was serious about it. She would even let him do whatever it was he wanted to do with her tonight if he was lucky enough with her.

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August 6, 2022 AN: Hooray! We reached a hundred Golden Tickets so we’ll have 5 chapters today. Keep voting guys for more chapters on another hundred GTs. We’ll also release more chapters for a thousand Powerstones so keep the votes coming. Thank you so much. *Kisses and hugs*