NOVPUBAila stayed in her quarters until she felt better, entertained by Harry, which kept her spiralling thoughts at bay. She knew Cassius would find her and work out if Damon really was nearby, and if the vampire did figure it out, then she needed to know if he was going to hurt him or not.
She could only hope that the group would be gone because if she saw Cassius attempting anything, then all of her hard work would have been for nothing.
But Aila couldn’t sit around waiting for an impending doom that could or could not happen. The worry at the back of her mind was making her stomach tie in knots, and she knew now that this was what Cassius’ real aim was. To make her wait. If there was nothing to hide, then there would be no signs that she was worrying the entire time.
Once Aila was able to walk without stumbling or craving more of Cassius’ blood and the power that surged inside her, she swiftly changed into something that was not splattered with blood, white jeans and a white crop top. The hybrid did wonder why her master preferred her to wear white, but then she decided it was better not to know; it might be something sickening.
After getting changed, Aila couldn’t stand remaining in her quarters any longer.
Instead, she decided to check on the remaining damage the vampires left in the guest quarters. It was an excuse to move her restless feet and to keep herself active instead of waiting for Cassius. Aila pushed open the double doors and started to lead the way to the guest quarters; her heels clicked against the stone floor while Harry’s quiet steps followed her.
"Won’t your jailer be pissed you’ve left your rooms?" Harry questioned from behind her. Aila glanced at him, noting how nonchalant the lycan was considering his circumstances; he walked with his hands behind his head while observing his surroundings lazily. It took her a moment, though, to realise his eyes were much sharper than how he was portraying the rest of his body.
"Just remember he’s a rogue," Malia quietly warned. Her wolf was still wary about Harry, and Aila understood why. But she had formed some type of comradery with the lycan; after all, they were in similar circumstances. Malia was right, though, Harry was a rogue, and he had definitely been brought up differently from other werewolves.
Aila looked away from the red-haired lycan and shrugged. "Like I told you before. We can roam around wherever we want, just not off the castle grounds or to the west wing. Plus, we need to help any humans those damned vampires brought along," Aila replied with a snarl.
"Humans?" Harry growled, and his lazy strides quickened, his arms now by his side as he scowled.
Aila nodded and stopped outside of the doors where the vampires had been partying. Claudina’s body was still staked on the wall, her head flopped forwards.
"That’s messed up," Harry commented. "Another reason why I don’t like vamps. They don’t have respect for their own kind. They’re sick for leaving it like that."
Aila pursed her lips. "Hmmm," She hummed as her eyes scoped the room and fell on the three human slaves she had seen previously. Like how she found them before, they were slumped over on the sofa.
Aila cursed under her breath and rushed to their sides.
"And you thought Cass had a good side? He’s left them here-"
"Are you saying Davian also left them here?" Aila interrupted her wolf. She wasn’t trying to defend Cassius, but it didn’t seem likely that he’d leave them there. He gave his feeders benefits and treated them with some form of respect, so it wouldn’t make sense that he would let the humans die. Davian most certainly wouldn’t.
"The group probably tried to escape before either Cassius or Davian made it back here."
The screams had long stopped, and the castle remained an eery quiet after a night full of partying vampires and the horrors they created, making their short attendance seemingly longer than half a day. But although it was now quiet beside Aila and Harry’s breathing, the burning of flesh was still in the air. That was something that would not go away so easily, and it made Aila’s nose wrinkle.
But none of that mattered right now. The three humans that had been left were looking a deathly pale. Their skin was so pale it was a chalky white.
"Help me carry them," Aila quietly ordered after checking their pulses. She bent over and picked up the girl closest to her and gently placed her over her shoulder.
By the time she was done, she was blinking back in surprise and desperately looking away after seeing Harry’s bare backside, revealing the many scars on his back before he transformed, growing upwards into the crazy height of his lycan form. Harry looked deadlier now, with his razor-sharp teeth glinting while he growled from what sounded like pain. 𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒑𝒖𝒃.𝙘𝙤𝒎
Harry’s transformation looked incredibly painful, and if the roles were reversed, Aila knew she would be much louder than him. Harry walked forwards on his hind legs, making his appearance all the more strange-looking, and if the ceiling wasn’t so high, then he would definitely be slouching and his head and ears hitting it.
Aila started to turn away after watching the lycan pick up the last two humans; he carried each of them over his shoulders as though they weighed nothing.
Aila led the way to the guest quarters and helped each of the humans into a bed. Supplies were already in the rooms specifically to help keep feeders in tip-top condition. Aila bit her lip subconsciously as she thought about the quickest way to help the ’slaves’ health improve. She knew what might help, but someone needed to watch over them after. Maybe she could ask Davian when he returned?
Or was that too much?
Aila looked back at Harry after he pulled on a silky maroon coloured dressing gown he found inside the small walk-in closet. She couldn’t let Harry know that her blood would heal the humans, then he would find out that she was part vampire and the reason he was a lycan now. He needed to be on her side for as long as possible.
She didn’t want to use any unnecessary commands, especially after seeing how Malia was forced to follow Cassius’s orders without him using her true name.
She wondered just how it would make her wolf feel. It wasn’t something either of them wanted to find out. It was like the Alpha’s voice whereby there was no choice but to follow the command; any free will was taken away.
"Harry, take one of the other rooms," Aila said quietly as she gently placed her hand on the back of his shoulder, pushing slightly, urging him out of the room.
"What about these guys? I don’t think they will last the day if you just leave them like that. Fancy bed or not.. They look like shit." Harry spun around, surprising Aila with how much he seemed to care.
"Don’t worry about them. I will get Cassius to give them his blood." Harry’s face crumpled up at what she was implying. "Go on, choose a room, and rest up. I don’t think you wanna be there when I see Cassius."
Harry retightened the robe at his waist aggressively. "That fucker.. he’s got a weird obsession with you." He then looked at her, his jaw tightening. "I hope you know what you’re doing, your highness."
With that, the lycan turned away. Aila released her breath and waited until she knew Harry had found a room and was satisfied he would not leave. She didn’t know where Cassius was now, but she wouldn’t waste time searching for him.
Aila opened the door to the woman’s room, which she initially carried. Her breathing was still slow, her face pale and forehead full of sweat, and her neck had so many bite marks and scars it made Aila nauseous.
"Are you sure this is going to work?" Malia piped up as Aila leaned over the sleeping woman, her fangs almost piercing her forearm.
"I have vampire blood in me.. As long as they aren’t dying, they won’t turn into one, and none of them are werewolves, so they won’t turn into a lycan like Harry," Aila replied as she bit into her forearm.
This was the first time she was doing such a thing, and although a lot of strange and new things had been happening to her over the last month, this little action seemed all the more strange right now. She was piercing her skin with her vampire fangs to draw blood and give a few drops of it to a human so they may heal better.
"Get out of your head before your wound heals, and you have to do that again." Malia snapped her out of her thoughts, and Aila followed through with her plan.
The hybrid only gave a few drops to each of the ’slaves’ that had been left behind. Each of them had instantly improved; their skin brightened, their wounds healed, and colour came back to their lips along with their even breathing and hearts beating steadily. Aila left the guest quarters feeling pretty chuffed with herself that she could help them.
Whilst walking back through the hallways and many twists and turns of the castle to her quarters, Aila mind-linked Davian to check up on the humans when he had a spare moment and of what she did.
Aila opened the double doors to her quarters again and stopped abruptly as they slowly drew closed behind her. Cassius was sprawled out on one of the sofas Harry did not sleep on, his feet crossed on the cushioned surface, one hand holding a book and the other resting on the back of the sofa. He slowly looked up from the pages and stared at her.
"I hope I am not disturbing you from your little outing.." He shut the book with a loud thud and threw it on the side table beside him. "Although I am quite surprised to see you return. Did Damon not try and whisk you away on his steed?"
Aila almost flinched at his sarcasm, but she worked hard on keeping her features composed. "If you really thought I went to see Damon, you would not be here right now. Stop playing games. I was helping with the mess you left behind," Aila replied coolly, meeting his narrowing gaze.
"So.. You did see your ’beloved’ mate.." Cassius smiled, revealing his fangs as his eyes darkened with a dangerous gleam.
