NOVPUBAila’s eyes flicked open, feeling well-rested after her sleep and finding her room in complete darkness. But with her heightened senses, she could still see everything clearly in the shadows. She sat up and stretched her arms above her head before sliding out of bed and clapping her hands.
The chandelier switched on to the low mood lighting Aila clapped it onto. With a sigh, she stared down at her bloodied clothes and stormed back through to the bathroom. It was a given that her clothes would either be dry cleaned or simply thrown away; there always seemed to be a never-ending choice of high-quality garments to choose from.
Aila felt more refreshed under the cold shower and started her nightly ritual of staring and speaking to her wolf in the mirror with her damp hair drying behind her.
"They were hunters," Malia commented. "Nobody is innocent there."
"You’re right; I just want to make sure I’m not falling into this cold-blooded haze I keep finding myself in," Aila murmured back as she gently dried the ends of her hair. Her thoughts flashed to how easy she found killing others, and it disturbed her. So far, she’d only ever fought and killed for self-defence except for the mission where they sought out Silas and Robert.
"But it’s good to have this ’persona’. It does help," Malia replied. "It makes you stronger and fearful to your enemies. Which is exactly what you want with the hunters and that leech to see it."
"Hey now.. I’m technically a leech as well," Aila snickered as she turned away from the mirror and returned to the walk-in closet, running her hand through all the designer clothes. Again, they meant nothing to her, but she better dress up. Not just because of Cassius but in a way, it did make her feel better about the situation. To a degree.
After ’dolling herself up’, she left her quarters in search of Cassius and Davian. The sire bond directed her to Cassius’ office. She opened the door without knocking; her master could already tell it was her. He was seated at his desk at the far end of the long, almost tunnel-like room; it was indeed grand and mainly had furnishings that suited the medieval vibe.
The ceiling had wooden beams curving into archways, bookcases were spread along the two long walls with cabinets and showcasing ancient daggers, guns, scrolls and gems, objects meant to be in a museum. But she suspected they were family ’heirlooms’.
Colour panelled windows with stories she had not seen before were adorned at the top of the bookcases, scattering an array of colours across the large rectangular table in the middle of the room that was fit for at least sixteen people to sit at.
A map was spread out along the table with markings on Aila was yet to decipher, and before the vast mahogany desk that almost fit the width of the room was a little lounge area with two loveseats and armchairs, all different colours. Candles on golden holders were among the coffee table, the desk and the bookcases, as well as the lamps and the singular golden chandelier, lighting the room further.
Cassius was working on his laptop, the only object that seemed out of place from this historical setting. Although this was where Cassius spent most of his time, it was one of Aila’s favourite rooms in the castle. The gardens and the library were in a close second, but she preferred how cosy and homey the large room was.
A few times, she’d found herself acting completely normal around the vampire, chilling on the sofa, reading one of the old books while he worked.
At first, he seemed a little tense with her presence which was a little suspicious, but then he started to relax more and more until he would leave her unattended a few times. Of course, Aila wouldn’t chill when she was sure he was not nearby, and she’d try and hack into his laptop or decipher the markings on the map. Anything that would help her.
At least there was one thing she’d figured out from their little escapades and time spent in that room. She knew ’Castle Rose’, where she was staying, was located near Maine, and there was some sort of spell hiding them from the rest of the world.
In times like these, she wished the mind-link wasn’t restricted by distance, and she could just speak to her mate, tell him where she was. But that thought was soon squashed by the idea of him getting hurt and that she wasn’t ready yet to leave. As much as she craved to be with Damon to the point that it physically broke her, Aila had to stick to her plan.
It was only guesswork for now, but saving those lycans wasn’t a coincidence.
Aila stopped before Cassius’ desk, glancing at Davian, who was sitting on the sofa across from him. They had been discussing something in hushed whispers as she’d approached the office door, and now they were quiet. Aila wondered if they were arguing again; that was all they seemed to do. She didn’t really care.
Most of what Davian said she agreed to, but it still didn’t mean she could completely trust him.
Cassius had power over both of them, and she presumed Davian had no choice in telling their master anything she said to him in ’secret’. The hybrid also never pried further when she wouldn’t answer specific personal questions. Until they were out of Cassius’ clutches, she had to keep her relative at arm’s length.
"Aila, you are absolutely breathtaking," Cassius complimented her, pushing away from his leather armchair and taking her hand in his, brushing his lips across her knuckles swiftly, holding her gaze before gesturing towards one of the seats. "Did you need anything? I can get Fiona to grab you a bite to eat?"
Fiona was the maid who had been serving her. There were a few staff in the castle, but they were always quiet, even the guards, and all of them were vampires.
"Hmmm, I am a little peckish, maybe a burger. What do you think, Davian?" Aila turned her head to the hybrid as she removed her hand casually from Cassius’ hold. The vampire zoned in on the movement, but he didn’t say anything.
"A burger and some fries sound good. Did you want to go for a run later as well? Let your wolf out?" Davian asked with a dazzling grin. He was trying to help her out, and she appreciated it; she felt much better than earlier and was even a little restless.
"Still restless after fighting hunters at the compound?" Malia smirked. "I can’t waaiit to stretch my legs, though. It’s been far too long."
Cassius sighed and pulled away, bringing his phone out of his pocket, no doubt about to call Fiona. Although she was famished and not in the sense of wanting blood, her mind returned to the lycans they saved. Neither of them had mentioned anything about the beasts, and for some reason, she felt a little nervous. 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝙗.𝒄𝒐𝒎
"A run sounds nice," Aila smiled, then flicked her gaze back to Cassius, who put his phone against his ear. "Before eating. Tell me what happened to the lycans."
"Fiona, darling, can you cook some burgers and fries for me? I know," The vampire turned away, putting on the charm to the maid who had been crushing on him. Aila wondered just how long she’d worked there and if something had happened between them. She wouldn’t put it past Cassius, considering she’d walked in on him with three other women. "Thank you." He cancelled the call and raised a brow at Aila.
"I don’t date my staff, little wolf," Cassius smirked. "Why? Were you feeling a little jealous?"
Aila raised a brow. "On the contrary, you must have missed the rest of my thoughts. I wouldn’t put it past you to sleep with staff.. in fact.. haven’t you already slept with some of the feeders?"
And he acts like he’s in love with her or something. Aila refrained from rolling her eyes at the thought. Cassius narrowed his eyes at her stepped closer to her until the back of her calves hit the back of an armchair, and she stumbled back into the seat.
The vampire hovered over her, his hands placed on either side of the armrests, his eyes burning into hers with such intensity she felt her body grow hotter. "Would you prefer I release my frustrations on you then, Aila?" He hissed his question irritably as his gaze lowered to her lips and back to her eyes. "I’d happily oblige."
Aila tilted her chin up slightly, holding his gaze. "No thanks. I’m a one guy kinda gal," She replied coolly, her mind flicking back to how Amelia acted between the brothers. She was not Amelia. Cassius’ eyes flared at her, the specks of red burning brightly, but his mouth contorted into an amused smirk, yet his emotions were anything but amused.
Davian cleared his throat and kicked Cassius in the shin. The vampire whipped his head to him in annoyance. "What?!" He hissed, stepping away from Aila. She quietly released her breath, unaware that she had been holding it after her little comment.
"Paw five!" Malia remarked rather enthusiastically. She was worried but proud of Aila for holding her own at Cassius’ pass.
Aila pushed off from the armchair and walked away, ignoring the burning gaze on her back. She called over her shoulder instead. "Aren’t you going to show me where the lycans are?"
Cassius appeared by her side, his hand gliding to her lower back, acting as though they hadn’t had a disagreeable moment. "I will escort you there," He muttered, his eyes hardening. Aila frowned slightly, then looked behind her where Davian followed them; he seemed somewhat angry.
Aila knew instantly she wasn’t going to like this.
Her heart then dropped when she realised where Cassius was leading her. He opened an old wooden door, and they followed the bricked stairwell down a cold corridor. The path was lit up by torches on the walls, its flames flickering their shadows across the brickwork until it opened up to a dungeon. A shiver rippled through her as she took in the four lycans sharing one large cell.
Without thinking, her body acted before her mind could stop her. She grabbed Cassius by the throat and slammed him into the nearest wall, a growl escaping her lips and her eyes glowing a brilliant blue. "What the fuck is this?!" She yelled in his face. Her claws grew and pierced his skin, drawing blood.
Like how she was protective of her mate and pack, she felt highly protective of those lycans who entrusted her with their safety. Yet here they were in a damp, cold cell just as bad as the one in the hunter’s compound. They fled from one shitty place to another. It wasn’t on. She may have put up with a lot of heart-wrenching moments over the last four weeks, but this was going too far.
