The Crown's Entrapment



After breakfast and a bit of rest, Aurelia found herself making her way to the Grant Manor's inner garden. There, Calypso was already waiting, his arms crossed over his chest as he sat on a nearby bench.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting," she scoffed.

"Not at all," he chuckled. "So I'm assuming that you're here to learn about your wolf form."

"That's right," Aurelia nodded. "I'm of the impression that I have access to such a form now."

"We'll see," he stated. "But first, you must know how your wolf form even looks like."

Aurelia blinked. "Sounds easy enough."

"It is, but that's not all," Calypso began as he casually crossed his legs. "You need to be in tune with your inner wolf. Any sort of conflict will make it harder for you to shift."

"That sounds like it's a given," she scoffed.

"I'm not done," he chuckled. "You also need to have enough energy to shift in the first place. Then again, that also sounds like it's common sense."

She couldn't help but shake her head in amusement. Truly, Calypso still had a tendency to run his mouth. 

"Nevermind then. I'm sure you can get this over with in a day," her mate shrugged. "Just sit somewhere comfortable and meditate on it. It'll come to you naturally."

"...That's it?" she couldn't help but ask.

"Everything else comes after that," he nonchalantly explained. "Once you can shift into your wolf form, the hybrid form will come soon after."

"Understandable," she raised an eyebrow as she scanned her surroundings. "And I suppose you'll just watch?"

"Hey, it's still something," Calypso heartily chuckled. "I can give you advice if you're stuck on something."

Shrugging, Aurelia decided that practice would better explain things than theory as she sat under the shade of the nearest tree. Closing her eyes, she eventually found herself in her inner mind.

[Hello,] Aura casually greeted, her inner wolf sitting in front of her. [I suppose it's time to do this?]

[Indeed,] Aurelia nodded. [I assume that we have no internal conflicts with each other?]

[As if,] her wolf snorted. [We're one and the same.]

[That we are,] Aurelia smirked. [And you look exactly as I'd envisioned myself to be as a wolf.]

[Again, I am you,] Aura humorously shrugged. [Really, only fools will fight against their inner wolf.]

Shaking her head, Aurelia shook off the amusement she was feeling in favor of actually trying to access her wolf form. Focusing on herself, she felt her energies moving within her, all of them coalescing in her chest as she felt something moving within her. 

After a minute, however, it was clear that that was the extent of her current capabilities. She just didn't have the energy to go much further.

[It's not working,] Aurelia grumbled, her focus still trained on the energies moving inside her. [It feels like I'm hitting a wall of some kind.]

[It would seem that our body is still getting a feel for the flow of the energy,] Aura hummed in thought. [However, it looks like we're not reaching a prerequisite level of synergy with one another.]

Aurelia frowned. [How are we not in sync? We're literally the same person.]

[I do not know,] her wolf clicked her tongue in annoyance. [Perhaps we need more power?]

Getting her wolf's unspoken advice, she began to pour even more effort into herself, her energies flaring up as she tried to force her transformation. However, after yet another minute of trying, she was still as human as she first started.

[It didn't work,] Aurelia grunted.

[But I felt our energies rise higher earlier,] Aura clinically remarked. [Perhaps it was still not enough…]

[So I'm lacking in power then,] she postulated in resignation.

[That seems to be the case,] her wolf agreed. [Something that can potentially be solved once we complete our Bond with our mate.] 

[Along with some of our privacy problems as well,] she hummed. [Something to think about then.]

[I suggest you do so quickly though,] Aura added. [That way we can get some more practice in.]

Aurelia sighed as she took her wolf's advice into consideration. Opening her eyes, Calypso's face was the first thing that greeted her as he hovered over her in worry.

"So what's the problem?" he quickly asked. "You didn't manage to shift."

"I currently do not have enough energy to shift," she admitted.

"I… don't know how to fix that," Calypso sheepishly admitted. "Maybe Lady Jayra knows more about this."

"And here I thought you were the expert between us." Standing up, Aurelia chuckled as her mate sputtered out in front of her, obviously trying to come up with an excuse for his lack of answers. "Don't bother. I already know the solution."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You do?"

"Yes," Aurelia smirked. "And no, I won't tell you until it comes up again. For now, let's just go about our new duties."

"So eager to work," he sighed even as he went to her side. "By the way, if you're wondering where the King and Queen are, they already left last night. Said they still had other places to be and that they send their regards to us for a successful Bond."

"Huh," Aurelia shrugged. In truth, the thought hadn't really crossed her mind. She was far too preoccupied with her hangover and wounded pride to even care about Her Majesties' whereabouts. "I expected something like that."

"They also said that Lena will be coming here any day now," Calypso casually added.

"I see," she nodded. "Well, if you'll need me, I'll be overseeing the transfer of my belongings to my new workshop."

"Good luck, Lia."

"You too, Calypso."

And with that, the two of them parted ways, both of them busy with their own respective work in their new domain. And while Aurelia was sure that their time spent apart will gradually dwindle once they got settled, she couldn't help but feel excited about her new life. 

She just had to keep things going smoothly. Her mate was surely going to be helpful in that regard.