HUNTED

Aila turned away from him and walked up the stairs. Once she closed the door behind her, her smile dropped. Chase looked doubtful of her commentary. As though Clint could get to her no matter who was by her side.

"That's great, now we won't sleep!" Malia whined.

"Nice to have you making an appearance. I thought it was only Damon or Darius who made you hide?" Aila muttered as she jumped under the covers to the enormous bed.

"Well, I was listening.. I just thought I'd let you handle everyone else.. They're so protective of us.. It's cute," Malia chimed in.

Aila rolled her eyes, "Don't tell them they are cute. They're meant to be tough.."

Malia snickered, "Yeah, yeah.."

With her wolf's last words ringing in her ears, she fell asleep almost instantly. The last few weeks seemed to officially catch up with her, her injury, her aching muscles and the emotional rollercoaster of finding her mate, finding out about herself, and the loss and grief of losing her friend and pack members. She welcomed the cocoon of darkness like a warm embrace melting her into the comfy pillow.

When she next opened her eyes, sunlight streamed into the bedroom, making Aila squint and grab her pillow to cover her face. However, she stilled after feeling the other side of the bed dip. Peeling the pillow away from her, she found Gabriel sitting on the other side of the bed shirtless.

"When you gave me your room, I thought that meant me having it by myself?" Aila murmured calmly. Though she sounded confident and laid back by the situation, she was anything but. Malia was growling in her mind, making a ruckus to the point that Aila grimaced from how loud it was. Even though she was the one to give in to the vampire in her near-feral state, it didn't mean she wasn't wary of him in these situations.

Gabriel or, well, Cassius was not her mate. Malia was feeling threatened by the shirtless vampire. His blatant moves were disrespectful to Alpha Damon. However, Aila knew that her wolf would not have an issue if Ajax or Finn was in his place.

But she understood Malia. The vampire knew her wolf's true name, it was good to be wary, and Ajax and Finn were like her protective older brothers. Gabriel, no, Cassius treated her.. differently.

Cassius sighed, "I came to make sure you are okay.."

"And that had to be done shirtless and when I'm unconscious?" She raised a brow.

"When you put it like that, it sounds creepy-"

"Because it is.."

He turned around and looked at her unimpressed. "My shirt is covered in blood. I was grabbing a new one after checking up on you.."

Aila sat up with a sigh, "Thank you.. Cassius. But my wound is nearly healed.."

He disappeared again and, a minute later, arrived in new black trousers, a white shirt tucked in, a black tie with a black waistcoat with gold embroidery around the middle, his hair pulled back into a low ponytail. Aila felt her mouth go dry from the look alone. Woah, shit, what the f-

"Aila!" Malia barked.

The vampire approached her with a smirk before his face became serious once more, "Remember, Aila. Only call me Cassius in private. Just for now.."

"Why?" She queried as she sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

"Because I said so," He snapped, his tone of voice left no room for argument.

She parted her lips to ask the questions on her mind, but Cassius swiftly changed the subject. "I am sorting a few things out this morning. But I will get more clothes sent here for you, and maybe a wig?"

"A wig!?" She exclaimed.

Cassius tilted his head to the side. "Do you not want to leave here?"

Her brain must be going too slow to function this early in the morning because she was not catching on. Cassius chuckled. "I will get a wig ordered for you, so you can go outside without being recognised.. Maybe some dark eye make-up as well.." He placed his hand on his chin and smiled, "Yes.. The make-up too.."

"Wait, Cassius, I don't need you going on a shopping trip.. I need to know more about you and Amelia.."

He vanished.

"Cass?"

"Oh, boy. There must be a story with that," Malia chimed in.

"He can't avoid me forever.."

"Technically, he could.. He's immortal.."

"Thanks for that, Malia," Aila replied dryly.

"No problem! If you require any more of my services, please feel free in calling the bell…"

For the next two days, Aila found herself in a monotonous routine of waiting around and scheming with the guys about what they should do. Chase provided intel on where the closest hunter's compound was to them, and they planned to check it out at some point. Aila was the only one not to have left the vampire's snazzy penthouse, all because Cassius couldn't find her a suitable wig.

She phoned Damon each day, he was surprisingly calm, but when she first checked the bond and felt how anxious and frustrated he felt, she questioned him about it. But he shrugged it off and blocked her from the bond. She didn't know how she felt about it. Now she knew how Damon felt each time; it was like a slap to the face. But she knew he was keeping something from her along with Finn.

However, Aila did not push on it; her gut was still telling her to be naïve and guard her thoughts about Damon and Finn. Which was becoming increasingly hard the longer she was away from her mate. The mark occasionally burned, which also became more consistent.

She remembered from reading the book and listening to Finn about how hard it is for mates to be apart for too long, but she never imagined it would cause her physical pain. She even found her strength decreasing, but so far, it was minuscule.