NOVPUBDamon’s mind was filled with flashes of that ridiculous small amount of time together. The way Aila arched her back into him, the gasps and small moans to his touch. Then his mind flickered to the desperation behind her eyes when she wanted to leave with him, but those lycans needed her.
Those lycans..
Shit, he really had been thinking with his dick. He should have been concentrating on the bigger picture. But seeing Aila..
"It’s not all about the boning," Darius piped up, and with his regal voice saying the word ’boning’, Damon couldn’t help the shaking of his shoulders as he ran back to the others. "The bond already feels stretched again. A five-minute hook-up is nothing, and this is all natural."
Damon didn’t think too long about it; maybe Darius was right. It was natural, and although the bond was already tugging aggressively at him and making the air he breathed weigh his lungs down, he was still riding on a slight high of emotions. He’d had his girl in his arms.
It had been far too short, and he hated leaving her to that prick. But it had still been something, and although they’d been kissing and he was close to tearing her clothes off, he did note that her body was injury free. That might not mean anything, though, she was still living with Cassius. She needed to be back with him.
The giant wolf stopped at the hillside again, crouching low and huffing after Kane’s jaw snapped at his face in irritation. Damon was still lost in thought at the way Aila felt beneath him that his Beta’s teeth managed to crunch down on his ear. He refrained from yelping, his temper rising to the surface as the Alpha in him didn’t like it, but it also brought him back to the trio surrounding him.
Damon looked from face to face, frowning slightly at the slight smile on Esme’s features. Why was she smiling? Where was Gabriel?
"You’re an idiot. Do you have any idea how much you could have fucked this up.." Kane trailed off after seeing and feeling the tension returning to Alpha Damon.
"Aila told me vital information. Shit, I wish I had more time to ask her more about it.. They’ve been collecting lycans.." He looked back at the compound; Aila was yet to leave those barracks.
Lycans.. The hunters..
"Aila can control the lycans, and Cassius controls Aila.." Kane spoke up as he came to the same realisation as Damon at the same time.
"Did she say how many they have?" Finn asked quietly, keeping his eyes lowered to the ground.
"No," Damon growled as he began to pace. Was this the reason they were destroying the hunters’ compounds? Were all of them full of experiments turning men and women into lycans? He thought they’d solved that problem by eliminating the vials of Aila’s blood when they killed Robert and Silas.
The hunters must have spread it quicker than they anticipated. He needed more information. Damon’s growl of irritation rumbled in his chest, this time making the ground beneath his paws shake slightly.
Damon stopped pacing as he looked at Esme. The last time they were at Cassius’ castle, she revealed herself to be more than the average rogue werewolf. She had some sort of powers, right? An idea started to form.
Esme caught the spinning dagger in her hand, pausing and stared back at Damon, waiting for his command.
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"Well, wasn’t that just lovely."
Aila spun around, her face composed once more and met Harry’s eyes. He was smirking, his eyes alight in amusement. She looked behind him, but Davian was not there. She was sure Harry was speaking to Davian earlier when she’d been…
"Occupied sucking off Damon’s face?" Malia filled in where Aila had left off. Aila bit her tongue, amused by her wolf’s choice of words.
"Zip it. You didn’t have much control, either. You pretty much barged me out of the way to take over," Aila quietened her wolf. She couldn’t believe Damon came to see her, it was so risky, and she’d been so caught up in the moment, completely forgetting that she should have used that moment to tell him more.
Yet, that kiss, the way Damon took control like he usually did, the way he seemed to crave her just as much as she was craving him, was so intoxicating; even now, she’d stared off with a twinkle in her eye. She snapped them back to Harry, whose brows were now scrunched together.
"I guess whoever left you looking like that.. was your mate?" He whispered, leaning towards her as he reached a large hand forward and pulled her bra strap back onto her shoulder. Aila flinched at the sudden contact, the bond making her recoil slightly. It was almost like her skin was ultra-sensitive now; ah crap, she hadn’t put the wall up between them yet.
She hoped Damon wouldn’t get the wrong idea.
Harry shook his head, pulling his hand back. "Let’s hope our little vampire ’friend’ doesn’t come back anytime soon." His eyes lowered to her lips then he began to sniff her. "Shit," he muttered under his breath. His arm slid over her shoulders, and she started to twist out of it. "Your mate’s scent is all over you. You don’t want Cassius to find out, right?
The swollen lips and smudged make-up I can’t help with but the smell.."
Aila relaxed from Harry’s words. He was just trying to help, and she was glad Davian didn’t come in with the lycan because he would have reported how she looked to Cassius. Or so she assumed. Davian was under Cassius’ thumb. "Did you send Davian away?" She questioned, wondering if Harry was really just that helpful.
"Well, I knew something was up. I was following your scent, and it started to change, and then I heard you running off.." Harry stopped and pulled her into a hug, his chin resting on her head. Aila stiffened, but the lycan pushed her head against his chest, clearing his throat as his hands went in her hair.
It was only to put his scent on her, but she didn’t know if that might bring Cassius’ wrath down on the lycan.
Aila would protect him if that was the case. Harry was now her responsibility, and already he’d shown himself to be helpful.
"I told Davian I’d investigate and that he should double-check the grounds. I don’t think he liked me giving him orders, but." He shrugged. "I told him it would save time, and we could leave quicker." Harry finished as he pulled away and smelled her hair. "That’s better."
Aila tilted her head to the side in thought. "Thank you. That was actually.. really helpful. To be honest, I’m surprised you haven’t tried escaping at these compounds. You could easily, you know."
Harry snorted. "I might be a rogue, but I still have my uses, and I want to escape but not without the Alpha Queen.." Aila blinked up at that.
She guessed it was just his curiosity at the situation keeping him there. Harry didn’t seem to be scared by anything, whether that was due to his upbringing, the evidence of abuse or from getting into fights covering his body, or because he liked the thrill of taking risks. Staying by her side out of curiosity was a risk, especially with someone like Cassius as their captor.
"If something happens to the Queen, then the King will follow, right? Now I’m not a stickler for rules, and I’m pretty cool with my rogue lifestyle.. but I’ve heard Alpha Damon is a pretty decent ruler, and I know you’re going to make an epic Queen," Harry added, putting his hands in his pockets and looking away like he was embarrassed at admitting that.
Aila was a little shocked at his admission, but her snarky inner voice seemed to speak over the compliment he’d given her. "How are you so sure I’d be an ’epic’ Queen?" It was her turn to look away this time, feeling embarrassed at her insecurities bubbling to the surface. Instead, she focused on the sounds of their footsteps.
"Because not everyone would stay to help a bunch of lycans and people they don’t know. I don’t have a mate, but I know not returning with yours was probably the hardest thing to do. Not everyone has the strength to do that and to put others before themselves. It means .." He stopped and then held her arm to gain her attention.
Aila looked at him, her heart thumping loudly from what sounded like praise. "Beneath that tough girl exterior.. you’re kinder than most."
Aila gaped at him, and the smirk on his features broadened to a cheeky grin. "Means you’d make an awful rogue. Now go get cleaned up." Harry released her arm, not waiting for her response and jogged over to Davian, waving him down. The hybrid had been walking in Aila’s direction but stopped at seeing Harry.
Aila turned her back to them, her thoughts a little muddled. Did Harry just tell her what to do? She shook her head; it didn’t matter. He was distracting Davian so she could make herself look better, though maybe putting a little blood on her clothes might help. Even she didn’t want to take it that far.
But one look at Cassius’ returning bristling form made her dash towards a building, not caring if she had to dirty herself. The vampire couldn’t know she’d met and made out with Damon. She could only hope that he also wouldn’t read Harry’s thoughts.
