HUNTED

"That your parent's death was all your fault," Darren's words resonated through her mind. Her.. fault? Aila felt as though her heart stopped beating, and the silence in the room became thick and deafening. At that moment, no one else was there in the room with them; Aila's attention was solely focused on the smirk on his face and the evil glint behind his eyes.

"You're the reason they're dead… You just stood there.." He whispered maliciously, sending a chill down her spine. 

An image flashed before her eyes, blood. There's so much blood! As quick as it came, it went, and she couldn't fathom the rest of what she saw.

Her lips parted in shock before her hand covered her mouth after Damon grabbed Darren by the neck in one hand and slammed him down on the floor, "DID YOU WANT TO STAY IN THIS PACK?!" Damon roared, "At the moment, you're lucky to be alive!" He squeezed his neck as his claws grew and pierced his skin. Blood seeped from the wounds and began pouring down his neck and to the ground.

Aila watched on in shock as Darren's face gradually went red, and he tried removing Damon's hand. Damon shoved Darren into the ground again before ripping his hand away, leaving Darren to gasp and stutter on the floor. His wounds were not lethal, and he would recover.

Unlike the rest of the pack, only the people standing nearby, such as Damon and the pack leaders, heard what Darren said. The pack members looked on in shock, but at the same time, they were unconcerned. There was always some form of a fight at one of these events. 

No matter how much they dressed up, the clothing couldn't hide the wild beast within. The only time they stayed on their best behaviour was if another pack was visiting or one of the many royal balls and celebrations. 

Aila looked around wide-eyed at the other members of the pack. Her thoughts were swirling with what Darren said. Her fault? How did he know such things? Aila jumped and spun around at the touch of someone's huge hand on her shoulder. She backed away from Damon, fear filling her eyes.

"Aila.." He kept his voice gentle as his hand reached out for her.

She looked at his bloodied hand..

Blood. There was so much blood. 

She felt sick, her throat tightened up, Malia whined in her mind causing Aila's eyes to glow, and her wolf almost came forwards, taking the reins and shifting. But Aila held back, forcing her wolf to stay put; she knew how Malia was feeling by what Darren said, but now was not the time and place to lose complete control. Aila spun around and darted towards the exit. 

She smacked the door wide open and ripped her heels from her feet, and started to run. Her heart hammered against her chest; adrenaline coursed through her.

"Aila, baby, come back!" Damon's voice filled her mind; she could hear the pain in his voice. 

Why was he hurt? She shut him out of the mind-link; she knew it was wrong to, but she needed some air and space away from what just happened. Even though the bond was pulling on her heartstrings to go to him, she couldn't. 

It was merely a month ago she was kidnapped and found out this whole other side of the world that was kept secret. Her parents' death, which reports said was an animal attack, was, in fact, a murder, but there was no justice to be found through the human system. Now, she listened to the words that no one should ever hear. Even if they were ridiculous, it didn't mean it did not hurt. 

"Oh, look at that! Your so-called future Luna just ran out on a pack meeting when things got tough," Aila could hear Lydia's words even as she got further away from the building. 

"She is no leader!"

"Lydia, continue talking, and you will lose your tongue, permanently!" Aila heard Damon's growl vibrate the ground even from the earth her feet pounded on. 

Aila grimaced then zoned out on the rest; she felt her heart pumping in her ears, or was it her brain? She couldn't tell; her wolf was whining as flashes of blood on her tiny child-like hands popped into her mind and contorted before going blank, and she was left staring at the mansion before her. 

Aila slowed her steps, choking on the air that she breathed. Tears fell down her face, and she felt flustered, too hot for the clothes she wore. She took a deep breath in, trying to calm her racing heart and her wolf. But her breaths were short. Was she having a panic attack? 

Her body began to shake as she hunched over. Malia was desperately clawing at her mind for an escape, a release. She wanted to run to the mountains and keep running until they would collapse. The skin on her spine began to stretch and tear as white tufts of fur began to protrude through her back. 

Taking a deep breath in, she felt the tight knot of power surging from her stomach. Aila knew she couldn't control Malia any longer. Not unless she used her power on her; she felt awful at the decision, but it was the right thing to do. The pair of them were not in their right state of mind, and it wouldn't do them any good if they came across rogues in the mountains or worse.

Sensing where Aila's thoughts were going, Malia instead stopped reaching for the reins. Aila sighed in relief and closed her eyes. She focused on her wolf, her white wolf that now was only pacing at the edges of her mind. Together they slowed their breathing, their heart rate and listened only to the breeze rustling through the trees. 

"Aila, hold up!" 

Her eyes snapped open, and she turned around to see Ajax jogging towards her, holding her black trainers by his side.

"Looks like you left your trainers, Cinderella," Ajax winked and handed them to her. His smile faltered when he saw the look on her face.