HUNTED

Aila fluttered her eyes open and found herself staring up at a glass ceiling. Her mind was blank, Aila couldn't comprehend where she was, what she was doing before this, but all she felt was a throbbing headache like she had been drinking all night. Her eyes were glowing, and she covered them with a hand before gently rubbing at her temples with a low moan.

Aila rolled onto her side stiffly; she felt like she'd ran a marathon. Heck, she probably had and more. She felt so raw and dirty. She could tell there was blood on her somewhere from the smell. But her body groaned for her to go back to sleep, even in her dirty state.

But the wheels were sluggishly turning in her mind, telling her she was in an odd bed. One unfamiliar. But the silver-grey silk cover was calling to her as her head sunk deeper into the softest pillow.

However, before she closed her eyes, her brows knitted together when she noticed her white hair on the pillow next to hers. It seemed dirt-free, but when she raked her hand through the strands on her head, she found them dirty and bloody. Her eyes then wandered down that side of the bed and yelped after seeing the body underneath the covers. Aila jumped out of bed and, in seconds had hit her back against something hard. Most likely the wall.

A low dangerous chuckle reverberated across the room. "Careful." She recognised that voice..

Gabriel suddenly appeared in front of her. Not a single strand of hair was out of place along his shoulders, his white fitted shirt tucked into his black trousers and the collar, along with three other buttons left undone to show his lean muscle underneath. Aila held her hand up as he started to walk towards her, closing the distance.

"What the hell were you doing in bed with me?" She demanded.

He quirked an eyebrow up at her and smirked. "Well, darling, normally when you wake up next to a man or woman", he held his hands up, "with a throbbing headache and no ounce of memory from the night before.. it normally means the pair spent the night having.. fun under the covers." His eyes trailed down her body and back up again, instantly causing her cheeks to heat up.

Aila frowned at his words and looked down, stilling when she noticed she was wearing nothing but a white shirt like a short dress. She narrowed her eyes at Gabriel and saw a breathtaking smile light up his face before he chuckled quietly. "I was making sure you weren't going feral on us again," He replied with amusement flickering across his features. "We did not sleep together.."

"No shit, sherlock," Aila snapped back, but her reaction seemed to make him smile more. It was unnerving. But his words finally sunk in. Feral? She pulled the shirt down slightly, then noticed the blood on her hands.

What the..

"Malia?" Her voice echoed in her mind. Aila began to worry, but she delved deeper into her mind and finally found her wolf asleep. The realisation finally hit her like a punch to the gut. Malia took over while she slept.

Aila raked her hands through her unruly hair; she will not be doing that again. She did, however, feel well-rested. Her eyes snapped up after hearing Gabriel chuckle and lean in closer to her. The dizzying scent of strawberries filled her nose, and she stared wide-eyed at the angelic-looking vampire so close to her.

Gabriel pulled back after flipping a switch, and the lights turned on. Aila squinted for a bit before her eyes scanned the room. It was a modern bedroom with white and black marble floors and walls. The décor a lot more on the darker side with floor-to-ceiling window the length of the wall opposite the bed and on the far-right wall. The lights of the city behind it were a pretty spectacular view.

But she snapped her eyes away from the luxurious bedroom and let her gaze land back on the finely dressed vampire who fit in so well with the stylish décor.

"How long was I… feral for? How did I snap out of it?" Aila queried.

Gabriel put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head to the side. "A few days and I used compulsion," He muttered before turning abruptly turning and walking through an archway that led down a pale hallway to the left side of the grand room.

Aila followed him like a lost puppy and found herself stopping and staring. They were in a walk-in closet, and there were so many suits, shoes, ties, watches, but there were also casual clothes, but there wasn't as many. Gabriel opened a drawer on the more 'casual' side of his closet and threw her some black tracksuit bottoms and a black top.

She couldn't help but smile at the colour, then her eyes flickered back to his, "I didn't put you down as a tracksuit kinda guy, Gabriel.." She smirked and watched the corners of his lips twitch up into a small smile.

"Tracksuits are not in my vocabulary.. these aren't mine," His eyes flashed with amusement at her widened eyes. "But they are clean." He walked past her to give her some space, but she quickened her steps, her bare feet padding across the cool floor to catch up to him.

"Gabriel," She gently grabbed his arm, and he snapped his head around to face her, his cool gaze almost making her stumble backwards. "Thank you," She watched as his icy features melted and his gaze softened briefly. "Thank you for helping, not just this time but all the times before. You didn't have to.." She glanced away from his mesmerising blue eyes.

But she felt his cold fingers grip her chin gently to turn her face to his. "Anything for you, Aila."

He held her gaze, and Aila found herself staring back, captivated by those red specks in his startling blue eyes, so blue, so, so blue.. He released her chin and smirked before looking away. Aila snapped out of the daze she was in and parted her lips from how close they were.