HUNTED

Damon walked back to her side; after assessing the tomb and the bloodied handprint, he asked, "What do you think happened?"

Aila's eyes flickered across the tomb, "I think whoever was in this escaped."

Damon frowned, tilting his head to the side, "But there is a skeleton in there.."

"True. But I think this person made the mistake of coming in here and was replaced as a body in there. Look, the chains are by their feet, the top of this tomb is destroyed, and there is a bloodied handprint.." Aila pointed out.

"Okay, detective.. then what?" He asked; his tone was playful. She looked up at him and saw a flicker of amusement flash behind his silver orbs.

Aila shrugged with a chuckle, "I don't know! I wasn't there! It just seems a little fishy.. But whatever it was, it happened centuries ago, so I'm not worried."

Damon chuckled, "Okay, I think, now that we have checked out the spooky room, which is, in fact, a crypt underneath your mansion.. It's time for bed."

"Yep, I am happy with this choice. Lead the way!" Aila clapped her hands together, excited to soon be under the covers and snuggling with her Alpha. She followed behind him in the cold, eery crypt and felt much better after closing the door behind her. Damon placed the shotgun back in the broken glass case, reached for her hand, intertwined their fingers, and led her down another hallway.

"Where are we going? Isn't the exit the way we came?" She asked, exhilarated by seeing more of the underground secret rooms but at the same time feeling her eyes beginning to get droopy. Maybe he was leading her to one of those rooms her mother used to use.

"There are a few exits. This is quicker," Damon's deep voice echoed through the dark corridor that lit two torches ahead of them as they walked up a long slope. 

More like a hill! 

Aila was bending her knees a lot and was muttering to herself about how she would have preferred the stairs. Damon's fingers squeezed her own, silencing her whining as they approached a locked door; he looked at her expectantly. Her eyes went from the entrance to him, wondering what she was meant to do when there were no instructions.

"Are we just gonna stand here?" She raised her hand toward the door.

Damon shook his head, "It needs your blood to exit."

"I'm sorry, what? I'm not going to keep stabbing myself to enter and exit this dam area!" Aila exclaimed in disbelief but put her hand on the cobwebbed doorknob anyway. 

Grimacing when a thick, black spider scattered away, and the palm of her hand was suddenly cut. The sound of locks opening indicated the door was now open. She pushed on the door, and it swung open, revealing Damon's office. Aila walked through with her forehead creased. Damon closed the bookcase behind him, and she walked back to it, placing her hands on the side of the wall to check for any signs that it was a door. But she detected none.

"You knew about that the whole time?!" Aila asked, stunned. She didn't know why, though she was becoming dramatic due to lack of sleep. She wiped her clean, non-bloodied hand over one of her dry eyes.

"I did," His baritone voice rumbled through her as he crossed his arms, showcasing his bulging biceps. Now, she wouldn't mind him carrying her; maybe she could fall asleep in his arms. 

Aila didn't realise her eyes were lingering on Damon's arms and not answering something he said. Damon chuckled with one brow raised, "Aila… Aila.."

"Hmm?" She sighed dreamily. 

Damon rushed over to her and swept her off her feet, so she was once again bridal style in his arms, "Better?"

She snuggled into his chest, "Much." And within seconds, her body went limp and her breathing long and deep. Damon shook his head, she really was tired, and he couldn't blame her. It had been a very long night, with parts of her memories returning to her.

He carried her effortlessly through the mansion as though she weighed like a feather. Once he made it up the stairs, he stopped and turned around with a scowl on his face, "Going against an order is normally Aila's thing. I hope this is not catching on," His deep voice whipped through the mind-link to the man standing in the shadows.

Finn walked towards him and bowed his head, "I apologise Alpha. I was making sure Aila made it back okay."

Damon felt his stomach tie into knots and fire burning through his body; Darius growled in his mind, once again wanting to claim his spitfire with the simple bite into her collarbone. His canines began growing, but Damon reclaimed control and narrowed his eyes at Finn, "As you are aware. Aila is my mate, and I will always protect her. If she is with me, then she is in the safest place possible." His voice was low and icy.

Finn bared his neck, even more, keeping his face down, "I do not mean to disrespect you, Alpha. But what about when she isn't with you? I know she is more powerful than me and others, but.. Darren cannot be trusted to keep her safe." He rushed the last words, waiting as though he was about to be beaten up by the almighty Alpha before him.

Damon's lips curled up into a smile, "You are right."

Finn looked up at him in surprise.

"Let's have a talk later about your part in this pack. I may have a proposition for you," Damon continued; he turned around, not waiting for his response.

"Of course! Call on me anytime, and I will be there!" 

Damon chuckled, "As I expect you should be."

Damon opened the door to their room and carefully laid Aila down on the bed. Her hair sprawled out across the covers, and he couldn't help but move a piece of it out of the way. He remembered the first time they met; other than a young boy's annoyance at a younger child, he found her fascinating even then. But, as he did as a child, he put it down to the colour of her hair and eyes; she was extraordinary even then. 

He was impressed the first time he saw her shift into a wolf, such a small wolf to go with the child within. After seeing Aila as a wolf, it only made him want to be one that much quicker. Much to his dismay, he found out the average age of receiving your wolf was in your mid-teens. 

But, after Aila was taken away for protection, Damon became adamant about receiving his earlier. He promised to protect her, and he needed to be stronger than what a 12-year-old child could offer.

With that determination, he received Darius when he was 14. The pain was tremendous, not like anything he had dealt with before, especially as a 14-year-old, but since then, he had trained and trained, being the youngest werewolf to join the warriors in the pack his dad was in charge of until it was time for him to take over. 

Damon shook his head. He was delving into the past when he should be resting with his princess by his side. But, just as those thoughts went through his head, Aila's eyes snapped open, and he was lost in the stunning hues of blue pools that were her eyes. She smiled meekly before getting up.

"Where do you think you're going?" He tried to grab her by the waist, but as usual, she was quick when she wanted to be and fled to the bathroom.

With a squeal, she said, "I need to at least wash my hair." 

Damon walked into the bathroom to find her looking in the mirror, her hands on her face shocked at her appearance. Aila did look tired, but to him, she still looked beautiful. She removed his jacket and handed it to him before slowly bending over to remove her trainers and then her halter top. 

A growl resounded in the bathroom, causing Aila to look up at Damon's reflection in the mirror and see his eyes darken as he looked down at her nearly naked body, only to return with desire burning in his gaze.

"Don't give me that look, Damon. I'm serious. I'm going to have a quick shower, remove the blood from my hair and then crawl into bed." Aila's hands were on her hips as she looked at him sternly. Though, she felt her lips betraying her and twitching into a small smile as her Alpha came forwards and snaked his hands around her belly before whispering softly in her ear,

"Then let's shower."