HUNTED

"Because he is my friend.." Her whisper came through their private mind-link. 

Damon's wolf form was bristling; his chest heaved up and down as a heavy silence filled the air. Aila kept herself calm and composed as she stared the Alpha down, and before there would most likely be another argument, she explained further, "I met Gabriel when I was abducted by the hunters. He was meant to escape with us that night."

"If he is your friend," Damon growled at the last word, "then why has he caused so much trouble? He put your guards to sleep…"

That was an excellent question, and although she felt like Gabriel needed to explain himself further, she decided to defend him, "He probably felt threatened. This IS werewolf territory. He escaped without us when you turned up with the pack for the same reason." Aila shrugged.

Again, there was a heavy silence hanging in the air as Damon stared down at her, "You said he was covered in blood, Aila. Even if he is your 'friend', there will be no exceptions if he has killed anyone."

The depth of his words hit her again as she envisioned how Gabriel looked. While she began to retrace what he said and how his behaviour was, Beta Kane's voice floated through her mind, "Alpha, Luna.. There's been a massacre at the packhouse."

All colour drained from Aila's face as she recalled Gabriel's words, "I solved one of your issues", "to see your face at my small offering.."

Her lips parted and shut as she stood there looking at Damon; he snapped his jaw shut and commanded through the mind-link, "Chiara, Nairi, head back to the packhouse, keep checking for the vampire but don't go off track. If you see him, alert me." 

The red and black wolves turned immediately and sprinted in the same direction Kane and Finn left earlier. Damon nudged Aila in the shoulder, which snapped her out of her trance and spiralling thoughts. Shaking her head, she mind-linked him, "Are we taking the bike back?"

"Do you know how to drive one?" He asked.

"I haven't in ages, but I can drive-"

"I'll drive. Come on." Damon interrupted before walking off. Aila followed behind the huge wolf, contemplating on climbing on his back like a horse.

Now that would be fun…

"Not the time or place," Malia snapped, bringing Aila back to reality. 

Gabriel did something, and more than likely was the reason for the massacre at the packhouse. Malia was right; with that thought, she set off at a jog, passing Damon, who caught up to her, trotting by her side.

When they made it back to the cave where the blanket and backpack was, Aila scrambled to put things away while Damon got changed. Once he emerged fully clothed, they rushed off towards his motorbike. He handed her the spare helmet, but before Aila put it on, she held Damon's hand to gain his attention, leaned forwards on her tiptoes and placed a kiss on his lips. They searched each other's eyes for a moment, almost in wonderment, before Aila pulled back and put her helmet on.

Without any words being shared, they climbed onto Big Bang and sped off down the road. Aila swore he was going faster than before, but she couldn't tell. The ride wasn't as pleasurable as earlier; there was a sense of urgency and apprehension. She clung on tighter and clenched her eyes shut; she was not scared of the speed they were going. More so, she was trying to calm her racing thoughts.

The gates to the mansion immediately opened on their arrival. Aila noted more guards were by the gates and wolves patrolling in the woods. She saw a few of them the closer they made it to the packhouse, running through parts of the forest and countryside. Damon drove them to the front of the garage before switching the engine off; Aila climbed off and put the helmet down. 

Beta Kane and Gamma Chiara sprinted to their position, their faces grave. Kane was the first to answer the untold question, "There are 13 dead and one casualty."

"Show us," Damon's clipped voice sent a shiver down Aila's hollowing body. 

The Beta and Gamma led Damon and Aila across the grounds, their strides long and rushed, as though every second away from the scene could cause another death. Chiara fell in line with Aila, letting Damon charge ahead with Kane. 

"A letter was left for you," Chiara mind-linked her. Aila glanced at her, her eyes wide in shock. Her brows raised after looking down and seeing Chiara pull out an envelope from her leather jacket pocket. Aila grabbed it and put it in her pocket, reminding herself that the jacket she wore was not hers but Damon's. 

Aila nodded her head in thanks, but she could see the concern and confusion on the Gamma's face. But what could she say to make her feel better? Aila didn't know what was in the letter, but she could take a guess at who left it for her. The person who orchestrated the whole thing, or was it done on a whim? 

Aila's steps slowed down and faltered when her eyes set on the bodies spread on the floor. Kane's voice made her jump as he explained further the positioning of the bodies, "From what some of the warriors have analysed so far, they were murdered then brought to this specific spot."

Damon's face darkened, and his brows drew together as he walked by Kane's side, his body rigid while he observed the bodies lying on the grass. Aila searched deep inside herself, pulling some strength from her wolf, to push herself forwards. She caught up to Damon and immediately looked away, willing herself not to throw up at the grotesque scene. Her stomach churned angrily, and Malia howled in anger at what they saw.

Although it was nighttime, the area where they were placed was conveniently by some garden lamps, lighting up the ground. Before them lay the 13 dead werewolves in their human forms, on their backs. Blood was splattered on the trees and on the floor. Ten of them were decapitated, and when Aila stepped closer to one of the bodies with their head still in place, she could see two holes in their neck and their lifeless body, already greying. Looking almost mummified, as though the blood had been drained from them.

"Three of them have been drained of blood," Chiara's low, solemn voice confirmed Aila's suspicions. Aila raised her hand to cover her mouth as her eyes flickered to each of the dead's figures. Some of the decapitations were worse than the others. The gashes on their necks were deep and left the flesh and skin shredded.  There was even one where the head was more than likely ripped from their body at force; the man's nerve endings and esophagus trailed off from the neck towards the head. It was as though the murderer was in a frenzy of blood lust.

This was a vampire's doing. Gabriel's doing, it had to be. 

Aila jumped and yelped simultaneously when a pair of hands landed on her shoulders. Turning around, she saw Ajax. Luckily, Damon was too involved in a discussion with Kane, their backs turned away from them, to notice the exchange between the Luna and shapeshifter. Or the matter at hand was more important than his jealousy to take form. 

"Hey, you're okay," Ajax said in a soothing, calm voice, "you look like you've been through hell, though.." 

Aila parted her lips, her brows creasing in confusion until she saw his eyes glance down to her white jeans stained in mud and her white hair bloodied on one side. The side where Gabriel stroked her. A shiver ran through her. The blood in her hair was from one of the victims. 

Finn suddenly appeared next to Ajax, snapping her out of her daze. The pair were talking, but she didn't pay them any heed. She watched their lips move before looking back at one of the drained bodies on the floor. Her hazel eyes were still open, looking straight at her, those glassy eyes that showed no signs of life…

Damon sensed his mate was not following him and the pack leaders. He knew Aila was nearby, but when he turned around, his eyes searching, his teeth clenched together at what he saw. For once, he was not angry that Ajax was touching his mate, but because they did not sense the distress on her face nor see how she was not looking at them but staring at the bodies on the ground. 

"Finn! Take her inside!" He snapped and watched as he shook his head, and the pair walked off with Aila towards the mansion.

Darius was growling profusely in his mind; they could understand why Aila was in shock. The scene before them was like nothing they had dealt with before, but death was something they had been accustomed to, just not to this magnitude. The last time there was more than one death, it was the time when the rogues attacked, taking many, including Chiara's mate. 

Damon looked at Chiara, and he could see her impassive face cracking ever so slightly; her eyes were showing a vulnerability he did not dare comment on. 

"Gamma Chiara," Damon barked, snapping the she-wolf out of her reverie, "You and Nairi make hot drinks for the family members in the packhouse." He commanded. 

The Gamma nodded, her eyes showing relief before returning to the packhouse, where Nairi was already making hot drinks in the kitchen. Chiara helped serve them to the family members who sat in the living room and the two dining rooms. 

Aila was sitting at the kitchen island with Finn and Ajax by her sides, each drinking a hot drink. Aila and Ajax opted for hot chocolate, and Finn stuck to a tea. Aila knew she had to be better at such situations in the future-

"There better not be any more like this in the future," Malia growled.

Aila nodded her head, "I know. But I need to be stronger than this. I didn't know them, but this is my pack, and I need to be there for the family members."

"What's going on?" Finn asked gently. 

"Gabriel was here," Aila whispered. Both men took a sharp intake of breath.

"Did he do this?" Finn queried, scrutinising her face. 

"I think so.." Aila whispered again before reaching into her pocket for the letter.

Unlike earlier, she hadn't paid too much attention to it as she hid it in the jacket. It stared at her in her hands; she could see blood splattered on the top of the paper. 

"What's that?" Ajax looked over her shoulder, as usual, a little too close. Aila rolled her eyes and began opening the envelope.

All three of them raised their brows when they read the words on the paper:

They were plotting against you. You're welcome, - C