The Crown's Entrapment

Chapter 750 Defending Someone

Bella was enjoying watching Armon react to how she teased him. His scent was especially strong when he was aroused and it was fascinating to her how much he was affected by her, despite her not doing anything to purposely elicit this reaction. She wasn’t even touching him.

Unfortunately, her good mood didn’t last long, this was shattered as soon as Amon mentioned Lena’s name. Bella was someone who had a hard time hiding her emotions, especially with her face going sour and darkening as she stared at him.

“Right, Lena is participating in the competition… You must be delighted that your first love will be joining,” she mumbled.

Amon’s forehead creased at this, “Sorry what do you mean Lena’s my first love? Does that mean that she’s also Helena?”

Bella’s face paled as she asked, “You remember everything about her now? That she’s your first love? Did your memories return already?”

Amon cleared his throat, now uncomfortable at Bella’s line of questioning.

“Yes, indeed, my memories from when I was a child have been restored, together with my memories of growing up as a pirate, as well as how I entered the Element Forest and met Helena. But not all my memories are back. The last thing that I remember was when I escaped the forest and King Darius asking me if I wanted to live, and the only option being him turning me into a lycan. I remember how desperate I was at that time to live, which is why he turned me and my memories stop there.” Amon lengthily explained.

Bella bit her lip in frustration. Why would it stop there? Was fate that cruel to her that he had to remember his first love but not her as his present and future? It was utterly annoying. 𝚘𝚟𝚕．ｔ

“You said my first love will join and Helena is that woman.” Amon continued, completely oblivious to how Bella was feeling at that moment, “That only means that Lena and-”

“Shhhh!” she hissed as she quickly grabbed Amon’s wrist and dragged him inside her tent.

“What is wrong?” Amon asked when she finally let him go.

“We need a private place to talk since the topic is the Queen Fairy!” she answered with a crumpled face. “Your Majesty, please have a seat and I will explain everything to you…”

Amon quietly followed her as Bella took her time to calm herself first from her annoyance by preparing coffee for both her and Amon. She was glad that Amon was not in a hurry and simply stayed silent as he observed what she was doing.

“Is this your tent?” he asked, looking around.

“Yes,” she plainly answered as she started brewing the coffee.

“Isn’t it improper for a maiden like you to invite a man inside your tent unaccompanied?” he asked, making Bella roll her eyes.

“I’m a werewolf, Your Majesty… Inviting anyone inside our tent is not uncommon…”

Amon frowned as his face dimmed, not escaping Bella’s sharp eyes. Noticing his change in demeanor she hastily clarified, “Don’t worry, I’ve never invited any other man to be alone with me inside my tent, nor my bedroom so I’m still technically a maiden. Besides, I’ve already found my mate… and that’s you… I’m sure you’re well aware of what that means right?”

Amon’s face turned back to normal as if he was relieved of what she said, which in return made Bella smile.

[How easy of you to be swayed…] her wolf Poona teased her.

Bella simply chuckled at her wolf. [Remind him about the Winter Heat.]

Bella finished preparing the coffee and proceeded to serve Amon his own cup. She then got her own coffee and calmly sat in front of him, “Have some coffee while it’s hot. I prepared it to your usual bitter taste.”

Amon picked up the cup which Bella had carefully poured and lifted this to his nose to get a whiff of it before having a sip.

“You’re still the same… Doing the same thing with your coffee. Absorbing its scent before drinking it,” she commented with a smile.

“I like it,” Amon answered with a blank face.

“By the way, I thought that I should remind you that winter is coming. Like I said, you’re my mate and the Mate Pull is beyond my control. Female werewolves blessed with experiencing the Mate Pull go on a cycle of heat once every year. And most female werewolves experience it during winter. If ever I go through the Winter Heat… You must help me,” Bella reminded Amon with a straight face.

Amon, who had just taken a sip of his coffee, choked mid way and let out fits of coughs. Bella held herself back from laughing seeing how red his face had turned. “I…” Amon tried to say.

“We’re not even sure if I’ll experience it this winter,” She slyly said, cutting Amon off, “But just in case, I thought that I should at least remind you to prepare for it.” Bella hummed.

“But, it’s not my obligation to help you, Lady Bella. It will be improper for me… In our tradition to touch a woman that I am not married to.” Amon reasoned.

Bella sighed and then with a pout muttered, “Then marry me, problem solved.”

Her eyes were fixated on him, observing every detail of his face, anticipating his reaction. Amon was conflicted, and for Bella, it was a good thing. He could have answered her then and there with a straight NO, yet he didn’t. Somewhere inside his heart… Bella knew Amon could recognize his feelings for her.

There was a long silence that had settled over them, and Bella had finally decided to break it saying, “It’s alright. I understand everything, Amon. How you have your own responsibilities to your kingdom, and how you’re still trying to lift the whole kingdom of Helion out of its rut and help it get back on its feet to its former glory. You must follow the customs and traditions for the stability of your kingdom and the unity of your court officials… Which is why I will participate in that competition fair and square.”

“Lady Bella… I…”

Bella waited for Amon to go on, but it seemed like he was having a hard time delivering whatever it was that he wanted to say.

“About Lena…” she decided to simply change the topic in case he felt too pressured. There was tension in the atmosphere so she wanted him to get comfortable. Not everyone could adjust well to how tactless she was.

“This information about her is very confidential, and only a few knew about it… Even I hadn’t known about it and was only recently informed. Lena is indeed Helena, the Queen Fairy inside the Element Forest.” she started.

“But she’s a fairy. I remembered her having wings and pointed ears. Now she’s completely human. I didn’t even feel any energy of a fairy radiating from her.” Amon reasoned, unable to hide his confusion.

“It’s because she stepped out from the Element Forest. A guardian who decides to leave their post would turn human, and will be stripped of the powers that they once had back when they were inside the Element Forest.” Bella explained.

“That’s impossible, Helena had once told me that she would die should she ever come with me and if she ever stepped out of the Element Forest,” Amon pointed out. Bella’s shoulders dropped. She could never have foreseen herself defending someone she was competing with for the man she loved.

“Lena lied. She only said that so that you would leave. She had a responsibility and obligations inside the forest and at that time it was not easy for her to be selfish and go with you…” Bella explained.

“But she’s now outside the forest. How did it happen?” Amon prodded.

Bella bit her inner cheek, hesitant to tell Amon the whole story, but then she would rather he knew the whole truth rather than continue to keep him in the dark. He deserved to know how Lena saved him.

“Lena decided to leave the Element forest and her position as the Queen Fairy in order to save you. She found out that your life was in danger which is why she left… Instead of waiting for her powers to naturally be banished as she slowly turned human, giving her time to properly transition and adjust, she used up everything to save you from Devon’s bloodthread and dark shadow. And because of that, she lost her memory for good,” Bella summarized.

[What a martyr for you to explain everything on behalf of Lena,] Poona snorted.

Was she a martyr? [No, I’m not. I just want Amon to know the truth of what had happened to him and how he was saved. Also, it was the right thing to do Poona.]

[But what if Amon chose Lena in the end because she’s the one who saved him and he owed her his life.] Poona remarked.

Bella didn’t respond but deep inside she too shared that fear in her heart, but she was determined… to win him back honestly, no matter what.