NOVPUBAila paused her pacing and whipped her head to the side, staring outside the patio doors behind the dining table. Her heart began to race, her palms squeezing shut from the perspiration forming in angst and elation from the idea of Damon being nearby.
She was glad to be alone, for she could not control her feelings right now or the brightness behind her eyes at the thought of her mate so close to her. Cassius would surely notice, and she could not reveal herself to the others for fear of it getting back to the vampire.
Her moment of pure joy was short-lived, with her mind dwindling back to her situation. Aila knew from occasionally opening the mate bond how much Damon longed for her as she did him, but every time she felt his overwhelming feelings, it almost crushed her to the point of seeking ways to get back to him on the spot. Those moments though, both weakened and then strengthened her resolve.
The hybrid told herself she only needed a little longer then she could formulate a plan from there, though she was already beginning to think of ways to use the lycans to her advantage.
But those thoughts were quickly swept beneath a rug in her mind; Aila did not want to control them but wanted true loyalty, and that in itself might disrupt anything she wanted to use them for.
"Stop thinking and just run to him!" Malia growled in her mind; she was pacing against the fringes, trying to pull onto the reins of control to her body. But Aila was stronger and held her own.
"Malia, we cannot do this now," Aila replied firmly even though she wanted to go to him with all the fibres of her being. Even without seeing him, every nerve was prickling on edge, and she felt restless.
With a long sigh, Aila decided to head for the gardens, needing the cold air on her features but not so much as wanting to run with Davian and Harry. She wanted solace in her thoughts while Cassius was distracted.
Once she exited the doors leading down the stairs to the gardens, she walked among the flowers, through the mazes, sat on the many fountains scattered around as she felt the bond tugging at her more, constantly telling her of her mate’s arrival.
Was there something she could do to make sure he did not interfere? She could not bear the thought of him finding her and only to be injured or, worse, killed by Cassius. A sharp pain like a knife twisted in her chest at the idea. As she contemplated what to do, Aila found herself walking towards the lake at the front of the castle and sat down, making sure no dirt was to stain her white jumpsuit.
Behind her, Aila could still hear the beat of the music and cringed at the idea of the vampires dancing or lounging around still. It was daytime; did they not wish to retreat to sleep? They couldn’t go anywhere now with the sun out, and she had already helped their slaves to the safety of rooms where their ’masters’ could not find them.
It still made her nose wrinkle even by calling them slaves and masters, and her body started to tremble in anger. Why did she have to put up with what she had seen?
Sure, she was part vampire, but she didn’t want to be a part of that vile world where the vampires treated humans no more than blood bags they could easily dispose of. Cassius seemed to treat his feeders well enough to make her believe he was not that cold-hearted though he was quick to accept the demise of Claudina and any she had accidentally killed.
Maybe, there was a chance she could help those slaves, though.
Aila returned to the castle in search of Cassius to inform him of her desire to help the humans, but when she arrived at the drawing-room where the vampires were, her master was nowhere to be seen, and a terrific sight held her in the doorway. Her stomach twisted into knots, and bile rose to her throat.
A fire burned behind her eyes as she watched one of the lycans from the dungeon growling and prowling across the floor, snapping its jaws at the vampires in hatred. It was unable to go further from the restrictions of a silver chain locked onto a silver collar and held by another vampire who also kept a sword pointed at it.
"What. Do. You. Think. You. Are.
Doing?" Aila growled quietly, her voice was low, but the fury behind it halted the laughter and joy on the vampires’ faces. They were despicable beings, and any form of mercy she had shown them was gone in an instant. They thought it was funny to torture the lycan with the silver against its skin.
She could almost feel the fear and fury bouncing from it; he didn’t know what would happen to him and was struggling to free himself.
Aila stood tall in the door frame, and waited for a commotion or anything from the vampires but she also knew they would not do anything. Besides Cassius, she had proven her power and command over these pathetic leeches. All eyes were on her now, even the lycan stopped struggling against its chains, and she could almost see its body relax with a long exhale.
Without another word spoken, Aila reached her shaking hand out, her eyes roaming across the room, holding each of the vampire’s stares, making them flinch at her own burning brightly into them.
Her eyes were glowing, and the specs of red sparkled, revealing the blood lust they had brought forward. But it was not the lust of a human’s blood she craved; it was those of the vampires who were so arrogant of their existence that she would happily kill them then and there. But first, she needed to get the lycan away from these disgusting creatures. Why were Cassius friends with them?
Where the hell was he? Did he allow this to happen?
Her hand was still outstretched, and she glanced at the vampire holding the chains; his lips were parted as though he wanted to speak up, but her arched brow silenced him, and he placed the chain in her hand. "I could release him on all of you," Aila said as she walked away with the lycan, who complied with her silent wishes. "It would be a great ending to you all and rid the castle of such pests.
But I feel his anger would not allow time for torture."
Aila left the room with the lycan in toll on all fours; they walked a little further down the hallway and stopped to face him. Its blue eyes held hers, and she slowly reached for the collar around its neck, her eyes brimming with tears. "I cannot apologise enough for the way you have been treated," She whispered as her heart wavered about keeping him at the castle.
The lycan whimpered as she removed the silver collar and let it fall with a loud clatter to the ground. "Let me at least provide you with some food, and then you may leave." Her eyes flickered between the beasts, and she could tell at that moment that there was still some part of its human existence was in there.
It shook its head, making her frown in confusion, but another noise from the room of vampires made her cringe and turn around. He could either follow her or leave; she was giving him a choice; even if he wanted to turn around on the vampires, she would allow it. If Cassius asked, it would be their own fault.
But there were no screams of the lycan ripping those vampires into pieces instead, he followed her until it was back in the dungeon. Before the cells she checked over its body for any wounds, and was surprised that they did not torture the beast any further than just the silver collar around it. What surprised her more was that it let her check its body without any complaint.
"Did Cassius take him out of here?" Aila directed her question to Aldric, who was sitting in the corner. She scanned his body as he rose and stood before her and was pleased to see he was not harmed.
Aldric shook his head. "A few leeches came here and took him."
Aila clenched her fists together, the anger boiling beneath the skin again. "And how did they get him out? There are three of you," She asked through gritted teeth. The hybrid hoped he did not think she was blaming him for what happened, but she needed to know the details.
"It was simple. They used silver to keep us away and let him through. At first, he tried to attack them, but there were three vampires. We may be powerful, but it seems three of them is what it takes to overthrow us," Aldric replied calmly as his large hands wrapped around the bars. "Do you intend to avenge him?"
Aila locked her gaze with the lycan. "Without a doubt." She turned away, her hair flipping behind her as her heels clicked against the dirtied stone ground. She could feel their growing loyalty towards her though she didn’t think she deserved it.
Aila returned with a lot of grilled meats, unaware if they could eat it all uncooked or not. But the lycans still ate without complaint, and she left them to seek out her master. Something had to be done about those vampires, and the lycans needed somewhere nicer to stay, beast or not, she’d prefer a room given to them whether they destroyed it or not.
The hybrid returned to the main castle in search of Cassius again but could not find him, and anytime she got closer to the sound of the music roaring still from the vampires, she wanted to pull their eyes from their sockets. Her wolf envisioned much worse fates for them, but she did not want to act on impulse, especially if Cassius did care whether they lived or died.
Malia snorted at her thoughts, and Aila shook her head. She was once again looking outside of a window, facing the gardens as she sipped on a glass of blood. It wasn’t really satisfactory in comparison to drinking straight from a feeder, but her guilt would not allow her to return to Geralt. Aila felt herself wanting more after the last drop hit her tongue.
Still, she didn’t know if that was because of her burning desire to destroy those vampires or because of the anxiety building in her chest from the sense of the distance between her and Damon growing shorter.
Putting the glass to the side, she watched as a small figure appeared in the distance behind the gardens. She squinted but missed it before they disappeared. Aila felt her heart thud loudly against her chest, and then she stopped breathing altogether and lowered her gaze to the ground.
She could feel his presence even with the wall between them, her breaths became short, and she worked to keep herself under control.
Flicking her gaze up, Aila’s breath caught as she saw the one person she’d dreamt about nightly for the last month. Her dreams didn’t do him justice, and her feet nearly succumbed to her need to run to him. Damon, her mate, her Alpha, stood in the distance watching her.
