NOVPUBAila tilted her head to the side, ignoring the slight stutter in the beat of her heart. She had to refrain from sliding her clammy hands down her attire and remained calm. Or so she hoped.
Cassius was here to probe her further about what happened earlier. Again, Aila could only assume he was a little suspicious because she was starting to understand her master a lot more now. Even though Cassius liked to play mind games, this wasn’t something he had the patience for.
The mind games were just something to keep him entertained, but something as important as this, he demanded to know if Damon was really here.
In fact, she didn’t put it past him if Cassius scouted the surrounding area after taking care of the vampires. But somehow, Aila knew the vampire didn’t come across her companions. Surely she would feel it through this bond between them or read it on his smug face if he did.
If her mate knew of their location, then that would put Cassius in a predicament, and he would need to make his next move. There was no time for mind games. If he really wanted to, he could force the truth from her, but so far, he had not. Maybe it was a test as well, and so she would need to tread carefully.
Aila could not lose any small amount of trust built between them, and after seeing her mate, she was starting to feel a little desperate. She gritted her teeth; Cassius could sense these things through their bond.
"My beloved mate.. I never said I saw Damon, and even if I did see him, do you think I would return to him?" She questioned Cassius and continued walking into the room. That question did indeed gain his attention. His eyes glittered in amusement, and he arched an eyebrow as though he expected her to explain further. 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Aila leaned her forearms onto the back of the couch where he was sitting and stared back at the vampire. "No, I would not, and I think you know why." Cassius held her stare, unblinking, his gaze intense as he hung on every word leaving her lips. It seemed he wanted to know where she would go with this.
Excellent.
"First of all, returning to the pack and returning to my mate would only put them in danger from you. We have also made a lot of progress in taking out the hunters and trying to track down Clint. You are also my master and have been.. in your own way, helping me. If I was back at my pack, I doubt they would be so forgiving of seeing their Luna drinking blood and killing humans.
It is against everything a werewolf stands for."
Aila needed to tell him the truth, even if it was a little twisted. The points she made, though, would be precisely what he would expect of her, and it would keep his suspicions at bay.
"Do I need to continue with the list? Or have I made my point clear?" Aila held his gaze, then blinked when he vanished.
But with that vampiric speed of his, Cassius popped up behind Aila, his hands either side of her on the couch, caging her body to the cushions from behind. His mouth lingered next to her ear. "Hmmm, you have been very clever, Aila. Very clever indeed." His hand reached around her and glided up her throat, making her skin tingle with the sudden contact.
"It does make me happy to hear all the reasons why you would stay by my side.." His hand clutched at her chin and forced her head to look at him. "Was Damon here today?"
Aila’s tongue suddenly felt thick and rubbery in her mouth as she stared back at Cassius. Their closeness was too much, but that was the least of her concerns. Everything in her body was telling her not to lie to her master, he could tell, but she didn’t need to tell him everything. Not unless he probed further. Swallowing loudly, Aila replied, "The mate bond alerted me to his presence."
Even saying the words out loud felt like a betrayal to her mate, and, at the same time, she felt treacherous towards her master for holding back further information. The bond between her and Cassius was a curse. Her body felt as though it was in a tug of war between the two, and at some point, she was sure to be split through the middle.
It was her moral compass, and the love and the strength of her mate bond kept her from tipping over the edge and completely falling into Cassius’ hands.
Cassius’ eyes flicked between hers for a tense minute making her stomach knot and her hands on the couch clutch at the cushioning. Then he released her, and she almost collapsed into the sofa in relief, but she did no such thing and turned instead, leaning her hip against it and crossing her arms.
"So, what now?" She asked nonchalantly as though this whole situation was not freaking her out.
"Hmm, we continue taking out the hunters and freeing the lycans. Maybe along the way, you can get even with Clint. I have a few sources telling me of his location," Cassius shrugged and turned away. Aila tensed at the mention of Clint, but it was just another distraction tactic to the hybrid.
"That’s not really freeing them, though, is it?" Aila muttered about the lycans.
"It is better than being experimented on," Cassius commented over his shoulder unapologetically.
"That’s it?" Aila watched Cassius’ back warily. "You have no concerns about Damon?"
"No, my sweet, sweet Aila." He continued towards the doors finishing the discussion as he pleased.
Aila didn’t know if something felt off about his nonchalance or if the vampire didn’t deem Damon a threat. It was possible. Cassius was a trillion years old, after all, and the only person who could probably take him out was his brother. That was an issue in itself. He showed Cassius a form of mercy years ago, and here he was, beginning to wreak havoc. But she didn’t know yet what havoc that was.
It was frustrating the hell out of her. Her patience was so close to snapping. After seeing and feeling her mate so close to her, everything seemed to boil up inside of her, ready to burst. She’d been giving and giving, following along with whatever scheme Cassius was planning and doing things that pleased him.
Aila felt as though she was continuously pushing against a formidable wall in the hopes of learning something new about her enemy.
A growl erupted from her lips, her chest rumbling fiercely. Cassius paused, opening the doors. "What do you want, Cassius?! What is it you want from me?!" Aila blurted out her frustration, her eyes glowing brightly. She gulped and lifted her chin when the vampire turned back to her.
Cassius assessed her features for a moment, his lips curled arrogantly and his eyes alight, looking as though he had been expecting this little outburst.
Hey, she was a werewolf – vampire with overwhelming emotions. It was about time for another meltdown though this one she hoped would not end with bloodshed.
"Finally," Cassius clapped his hands together before him. "She speaks what is on her mind."
Aila narrowed her still glowing eyes. "I always have."
Cassius nodded his slightly tilted head to the side, his face a mockery of disagreement, but he did not comment further on it. "I want a lot of things, and you are going to help me."
Aila released a long, frustrated sigh before snapping her lips together at Cassius’ sudden appearance in front of her and his fingers touching her chin. "Patience, Aila. If you listen carefully, you might just learn exactly what I want. After all, I need you by my side to succeed."
Aila stared back at her master as a shiver ran down her spine. "By your side.. I am already mated to another." He already knew that, but she couldn’t help but spell that bit of information out to him. Was what Gabriel correct about what Cassius wanted?
"Rule by my side, Aila Cross. We will set this world straight together."
A flurry of goosebumps spread across her arms at his words. But even though Cassius only provided some information that she was sure was only part of his plans, another bit stood out amongst the rest.
For him to succeed, she needed to be with him. That was obvious now more than ever, and although it was only something small, she was still making progress and could start to set her plans into motion.
