Looking around, ra found herself taking notice of the training ground’s current state. Her altercation with Gs had resulted in the ground having taken on a bit of damage, a few rocks and pirs sustaining a few gashes and notches in ces that had no ce to be there in the first ce.


    “It would seem that our spar had turned into something far more intense than the grounds had to offer,” Gs casuallymented.


    “So it would seem,” ra tersely replied. “I’ll have much to do in terms of repairing.”


    Thankfully, they had trained at her house. She didn’t mind any damages, but for the sake of appearances, she would still have to see to them regardless.


    “There’s no need,” Gs quickly waved his hand. “This was my doing, and I shall be the one to take responsibility.”


    “Absolutely not,” ra insisted. “This is my home, and I’m telling you that you don’t need to pay me for anything.”


    “I refuse your refusal,” Gs scoffed aloud. “Those sword gashes have all been from the force of my own attacks, and it falls to me to pay for the damages.”


    She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Who was he to insist that he pay for the repairs of her own home?


    “As the leader of my own Pack, I’m more than capable of paying for the upkeep of this ce,” ra fumed, cing her hands on her hips as she glowered. “Don’t overstay your wee, Lord Gs.”


    Shaking her head, ra didn’t know what to say to this stubborn man. Was he seriously going to push the issue?


    [He’s really trying, you know?] Sheba cooed into her head. [Why not give him a chance?]


    [And for thest time, I refuse,] ra groaned, inwardly rolling her eyes at her wolf. [How many times do I have to tell you that I love Darius?]


    [And he already has his mate,] Sheba quickly pointed out. [What’s the harm in trying out someone else, huh? It wouldn’t hurt you to-]


    Clicking her tongue, she cut the connection, or at least, momentarily ignored the howls in her mind. She refused to move in this discussion, and she was sure that she’d be able to change Darius’s mind and have him reject that sted Mate Pull of his.


    [Hey! Did you just cut me off?!] Shebained.


    [As if you’re not used to it already whenever you’re getting too annoying,] ra sighed. [Now kindly keep quiet while I think of a way to stop this man from being stubborn.]


    “Is that any way to treat someone that already offered to train you without any issue?” Gs fired back, turning her attention back to the present. “And here I thought I was being generous…”


    “That’s exactly the problem,” ra huffed. “I’m thankful that you took me up as your student, but this is my territory, and I wouldn’t have any foreign lord offer to pay for my own upkeep.”


    “Is that so…” Gs hummed in thought. “In that case, why not offer me an invitation into your home?”


    …


    …


    “What did you just say?”


    ra couldn’t believe what she just heard. Did Gs just tell her to invite him into her home?


    “I made myself clear,” Gs insisted. “I can even cook for you if you must.”


    A beat passed before her cheeks began turning into an annoying deep red. ra felt her face burn at the request, her chest feeling rather heavy even as her mind kept going to his offer.


    [Would you look at that? He even wants to cook for you!] Sheba quickly chimed in. [What kind of man would do that to someone they didn’t love?]


    [I get it, alright?!] ra seethed. [I don’t want to hear it!]


    “Would that stop you from wanting to offer to pay for the repairs of my training grounds?” ra pointedly asked.


    “It would,” Gs nodded with the slightest of smirks on his face.


    Looking at his face, ra just knew that she was falling right into the palm of his hands. She felt like she was dancing to his tune, and she didn’t like it one bit.


    [You know you like it~]


    [Quiet, you…]


    Taking a deep breath, she let out a sigh as she turned towards her home. “Fine then. I cordially invite you to have dinner in my humble abode.”


    “I am much obliged,” Gs chuckled. “Please lead the way.”


    ra couldn’t help but let out another sigh as she began walking towards her house. She felt like she had no choice on the matter, and yet somehow… somewhere… a part of her liked what was happening…


    [Hah! See?! I told you you just had to give him a chance-]


    [Quiet!]


    ***


    Gs couldn’t help but hold his breath as he walked into ra’s home. It was on the more modest side, the woman herself not really one to live a morevish lifestyle.


    “I hope you don’t mind,” ra urged him forward, her tone more begrudging despite the blush on her face. “I haven’t really used this ce much…”


    It was true. ra had the tendency to stay at Cordon Pce more so than any other Pack Leader. At times, she practically lived there, enjoying the good graces of the Queen Mother and Darius himself. It was to be expected, of course, she did, literally, grow up inside the castle’s walls. She was practically a part of the royal family in all but blood.


    “I don’t mind,” Gs replied. “Simply show me to the kitchens. From there, I’ll see what I can scrounge up.”


    “Are you implying that I don’t have any food avable here?” ra usingly asked.


    “I’m simply stating that you’ve clearly not been living here for long,” he promptly replied.


    ra sighed again, and Gs almost felt himself flinch upon seeing such a sight. He knew that he was getting on her nerves, but that was exactly what he wanted to happen.


    [Of course, that doesn’t mean you want her genuinely upset,] Ham chimed in.


    [That goes unsaid,] Gs mentally nodded. [I want her unbnced, but not to the point that she hates me for it.]


    [I still don’t see why you can’t just take her right here and now,] Ham scoffed. [All of this posturing and scheming is just getting in the way of what is truly ours.]


    [And for thest time, she’s not ours. At least, not yet,] Gs chided his wolf. [I want her to willingly turn to us, preferably right after Darius marries his own mate.]


    It was a foregone conclusion that Darius would marry Princess Xenia. No matter how much ra wanted to deny it, the fact was as clear as ss to anybody that would see them. The King was simply too far gone, and the only reason why the concept of him rejecting the Mate Pull was even talked about was because they hadn’tpleted the Mate Bond yet.


    [And that’s exactly what we should do to ra,] Ham insisted. [Just pleasure her to the point that she wouldn’t even be able to separate the sky from the ground anymore.]


    [And again, I’m telling you to be patient,] Gs inwardly sighed. [Time is on our side. We only need to wait until she sees that her love had rejected her.]


    It was cruel, but it was something that he truly hoped would happen. ra would see the futility in her quest, and from there she would finally give her the time of day.


    Of course, that also meant her losing the Trials.


    “Here’s the kitchen,” ra gestured towards her pantry. “And for your information, I did recently restocked, so feel free to cook whatever you might wish.”


    [nning on sabotaging her then?]


    [Absolutely not!] Gs inwardly fumed. [I would never do such a thing.]


    With a nod, Gs found himself alone in the kitchen, absently going through whatever ingredients ra had in her pantry. Spotting a few chops of meat along with a few jars of spices, he decided that a ssic steak would have to do.


    [Why not?] Ham questioned. [If you’re nning on ying this long game of yours, then shouldn’t you be increasing your odds of sess?]


    [It would be far too malicious,] Gs answered. [It would only be detrimental to my image.]


    Deftly, he began to work, rubbing all different sorts of spices into the meat before putting them over the stove. A few minutester, he came out with what he considered to be a decent pair of hot steaks. cing them on their respective trays, he then served it to ra, his own te put in front of her as he sat.


    “These smell rather nice,” raplimented before taking a bite. Her eyes widened as she hummed, “Tastes good too.”


    “I’m d you like it then.”


    Gs hummed at a job well done. If anything, seeing ra dig into the food that he himself cooked lit a fire in his chest. Unfortunately, he would have to settle with it for now.