HUNTED

Aila stared at the neat, cursive writing left on the letter from Gabriel.

"Plotting against you.." Ajax muttered.

Finn shook his head, "Even so, you don't murder them all like that."

"There's a better way in murdering them!?" Ajax retorted.

"Why is everything a joke with you-"

While the two men argued and discussed further about the letter and Gabriel's actions, Aila kept reading it and re-reading it as well as going through what he said in the forest.

"He's signed it with a 'C' though. Are you certain it was Gabriel?" Ajax directed his question at Aila, gaining her attention away from her thoughts.

Aila whipped her head to look into his emerald, green eyes, "It was definitely him. I saw him in the forest."

"Passing by?" Ajax probed further, still not convinced by her words.

"No. He used compulsion on me not to move, and he just.. talked to me." Aila glanced down at the letter again before continuing in a firm voice, "It was him."

Finn took the letter from Aila, bringing it close to his face and analysed it, "I wonder, his writing style is neat. This looks like he used a fountain pen. He could have been in a rush and not finish the letter properly. After all, he did kill 13 people."

Aila sighed in frustration. She leaned her elbow on the countertop, her head atop her hand while taking a sip from her mug of hot chocolate. Aila glanced around and was relieved to find no one near them to listen to their discussion. It was times like these that she wished Ajax was a werewolf so they could mind-link with him. 

"Let's keep this to ourselves. The pack does not need to know about this." Aila lifted the letter back up, "Or that I am the reason for their losses," She whispered harshly. 

"It is not your fault. They were plotting against you. You are their Luna!" Finn whisper-shouted, "They sealed their fate the moment they decided to make plans."

"Either way, honey, they would be dead. Gabriel just brought their execution forwards," Ajax added with a grim smile that didn't reach his eyes. 

"What was that?" A deep voice reverberated through the kitchen. Aila turned around in her seat, already knowing who it was, and grimaced when she saw Damon and Beta Kane marching into the kitchen. Before she could respond, more pack members entered the room with Chiara and Nairi, who turned on the kettle once again and leant against the counter side across from Aila and the guys.

"There is something we need to discuss," Aila said, glancing at the newcomers "in your office?"

Damon narrowed his eyes a fraction, not enough for others to see, but Aila could tell. Damon knew something was up, especially after Aila mentioned knowing the vampire in the woods and now they had graves to dig.

"Come." Damon turned his back on them and led the way to his office. Beta Kane walked by his side, while Aila, Finn and Ajax followed behind; the letter placed inside her jacket pocket again. 

Along the corridor towards the library, Aila suddenly stopped, and like before, the guys halted, nearly bumping into her. She stared wide-eyed at nothing in particular in front of her. Damon heard the squeak of trainers behind him and swivelled around to see what the commotion was. He blinked in surprise by the look on Aila's face. Once again, the colour drained from her face as she stared at the ground and the walls. 

"This is where we stopped last time.. Is her memory coming back?" Ajax whispered.

"I don't know," Finn shrugged nonchalantly, but his face was full of concern, "she's been through a lot. Again."

"So much.. blood." Aila barely whispered.

Damon's brows drew together after hearing Ajax and Finn talk about Aila's lost memories. Her words, however, caught him off guard. Damon was hit with the realisation that the hallway they were in was one of few when her parents were murdered, to have been left with countless bodies. The wolves that stayed to guard them.

Aila gulped with unshed tears in her eyes. Before her, her vision flickered in and out from the present to what she initially presumed was her hallucinating. But it was too much of a coincidence. There was not one but a few bodies scattered around the hallway, fresh blood staining the walls, bloodied claw marks, bullet holes and shell casings along the ground. She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, calming her erratic heart. 

"That's it. Just breath," Malia coaxed her softly. 

Damon stepped slowly towards her, raising his hands as he looked down at her gently, "Aila, baby."

A tear escaped her eye as she blinked them open and came back to reality, glancing up at her mate. Without uttering another word, she rushed forwards and into Damon's open arms. He wrapped her in his arms immediately, his embrace comforting her, warming her chilled body. 

"I'm here, angel." Damon kissed her on top of her head, away from the bloodied hair. Pulling back, he brought his hands down to her face, so she looked at him; he could see the fear behind her eyes at the unknown. At something, he hoped she would not remember. 

"I'll always be here for you," He whispered before leaving a gentle kiss on her lips and deepening it after feeling the burning desire to protect her from not just her enemies but her shadows of a bloodied past. 

Once they parted, Damon linked their fingers together, and they walked side by side towards the office, followed by the others who smiled at the pair. Damon opened the door for Aila to enter first, who cheekily took his seat on the other side of his desk. His eyes burned immediately at her spot, causing her to smile innocently at him. Shaking his head, he switched the side lamp on and walked behind her, leaning against the window ledge. 

His study was dark and only lit with the partial moon behind the clouds shining through the window and the lamp that still could not kill the shadows in the room. It was how he liked it, but he still sensed the fear in Aila; she was good at composing herself, even after having a minor breakdown. But the bond seemed to be growing stronger, even without mating or marking. Or he was just more attuned with her; they had spent every day together, sleeping in the same bed since it was known they were mates.

Aila watched as the others entered the room. She knew sitting in Damon's chair was a little risky, but she wanted something else, even if it was Damon's wrath, to distract her from the flashback she witnessed. If that was what it was. Sighing, Aila shook her head and paid attention to why they were in the room. 

She brought the letter out of her pocket and held it up; Damon took it straight away and read, "Who is C?" His deep voice merged with a growl resounding in the room. 

Beta Kane came forwards and also read the letter, "Do you know the vampire that done this, Luna?"

Aila gulped and explained to Kane what she told Damon. Finishing off with the letter she received from Gabriel. By the end of it, Kane had let his golden locks out of his bun, leaving them to fall down to his shoulders in waves. He looked up at Damon, "What do we tell the pack?"

Aila spun in the leather seat to face Damon; she could see him deep in thought, his brows creased together, and the muscle in his jaw ticking, "We tell them it was a blood-crazed vampire. Nothing else."

Finn was the next to speak; from the wall, he leaned against, his arms crossed over, "There is one survivor.. They might find it suspicious that their co-conspirators are all dead."

"That's another issue," Kane added, making Aila swing back around to look at him, "the survivor is Lydia."

Aila snarled as Finn snapped, "Of course it is."

"She's been rallying werewolves to do what? Stage a mutiny?" Ajax exclaimed.

"It would never work," Damon's growl filled the room, sending a small vibration across the furniture and books, "there's 13 or 14 who didn't want Aila to be Luna against the rest of the pack."

"That's 659 to 1 now. Or actually, if Darren is working with Lydia, then 658 to 2," Kane backed Damon up.

"Lydia's smart.." Aila began, her hands were clasped together, with her elbows against the desk, her head tilted down, while she spoke pensively, "Conniving and smart. But even if she does come up with Gabriel aiding me.. she has no proof… What happened to Darren?"

"He's in one of the cells," Kane answered.

Silence ascended the group, all lost in thought and tiredness forming on their faces. Aila glanced at each of their faces; shadows were starting to grow under their eyes. 

"So, I will burn this note. And the pack will only know that it was a crazed vampire," Aila reiterated what Damon said before dismissing them. Wishing them all to get a good night sleep.

Aila turned back around to see Damon looking down at her, an eyebrow arched with a slight smile on his lips, "I should just let you run the pack.."

"Ugh, don't, I seem to just bring bad luck to it," Aila raked her hands through her already messy hair. 

"No queen is without her enemies," Damon answered gravely.

"I'm not even queen yet!" Aila exclaimed. 

"But you will be, and Gabriel just helped get rid of some of them," Damon pointed out, "I don't agree with his methods. But I can't say I am fully angry with him. Whatever they were planning was big enough for him to wipe out a small group of my werewolves. This also brings about the point that there are vampires powerful enough to take out 13 of my pack members."