HUNTED

Aila woke up in her bedroom with a slight smile on her face from her dream, a memory of the day she met Hollie. She was still in blissful ignorance of the events that led her to her bed.

She stared up at the bed canopy and blinked; her hazy mind was slow and her eyes still full of sleep, but she wondered how she made it to the bed. Her mind began to turn and turn, the hunters, rogues, those beasts, they attacked their pack all at once. Her forehead creased as bits and pieces flashed before her eyes. 

Grabbing Hollies hand and running. A pack of rogues before her. A beast's heart in her hand. Silas. Chase. Gabriel's hands around her waist, his words beckoning her to come with him. Damon's arrival and Darren's near demise. But her mind suddenly went blank; what happened after that?

Aila raked her hand through her untidy hair; she never expected such events to happen, to be attacked not only from Silver Thorn shopping centre but the packhouse estate where most of the pack were, including children. This prevented reinforcements to help finish their fight quicker. Aila sighed and grimaced; even though she had slept for however long, her body was stiff and ached.

All that she expected from the day was to meet Hollie and listen to her boyfriend issues, or it was a trap and-

Hollie.

Aila gasped as her blissful bubble burst and reality kicked in; she placed her hand over her mouth as her eyes swelled up with tears. Hollie was dead. Finn told her she was dead, but she did not see her body. No, Hollie was not dead. It couldn't be true, she was with her, she escaped the shopping centre with her. 

She told Hollie to find cover. It was not true. Yet the tears falling down her cheeks spoke of a  truth she did not want to listen to. Her stomach clenched, and she sat up; her voice came out in a muffled sob as her eyes flickered across her surroundings, her vision blurred from the intensity from which her tears fell. 

Aila felt her mind reaching, grasping at anything that might help her from the pain she was suffering. She wanted to shut it off, turn away from the idea that her best friend was dead. 

She was dead.

"Aila!" Damon burst through the doors, jumped across the bed and pulled her sobbing body into his. She immediately clutched at his shirt, her face in his chest as she cried uncontrollably with her shoulders shuddering. Damon rocked her slightly and stroked her hair, comforting her. "I'm here now. Shit, I'm sorry, baby, I left for a second, and you woke up. I didn't want you to wake up by yourself.."

He continued talking, his voice deep and full of concern, but Aila found herself calming from the sound of his voice, not his words. Whatever he spoke right now was lost on her as her mind spiralled of thoughts about Hollie. Them as children, as teenagers getting into trouble once more, as young adults, Hollie teaching Aila how to do her makeup properly. 

A lifetime of memories was flashing across her mind; even the most insignificant memories that came to mind became precious. Her sobs became nothing more than a silent cry, her tears soaking through Damon's shirt and her nose runny. But her face stayed in his embrace. His arms tightened around her as a trembling sigh escaped her lips.

"It's my fault," She finally whispered, but the words barely came out as her voice croaked. 

"It is NOT your fault, Aila," Damon replied; his chest rumbled at his words, and she clenched her eyes shut again. 

"It is. The hunters are after me, so they went after her.." Her voice broke with the wave of guilt swirling in the pit of her stomach. 

Damon pulled back and gently tilted her chin up so their eyes were locked. Aila's felt heavy and wavered at the intensity behind his eyes, but she could not look into the depths of his eyes; she felt her own blurring again with tears. Her saddened, blotchy face was reflected in his silver orbs, she was a vision of hopelessness, and it wasn't pretty.

Aila tried to look back down, lowering her head, but his fingers hardened, keeping her head in place. "It is not your fault, Aila. It is the hunters. Do NOT blame yourself, you hear me?" His baritone voice made her chest tighten, and she found herself nodding in agreement. But she did not agree, not at all. 

She gulped and began wiping at her eyes with a shuddering breath while Damon leaned away and brought a box of tissues from the side that wasn't there earlier. She pulled a tissue out and blew her nose before sighing. She knew she was a mess and turned her head away to hide from Damon's gaze.

But he called to her softly, "Aila, do not turn yourself away from me. I will see all of you, even in your darkest moments when your heart is filled with grief. I will be here. Your tears and red face make you just as beautiful as how you look every day." 

She turned her head to him, her brows arching together at his words. 

He leaned forwards and cupped her face with his huge hand, his eyes flickering between hers, "You could never be ugly. Your soul burns brightly for those that you love. Your tears and scars are what make you, you. And I love everything about you." He kissed her gently on the lips, leaning his forehead against hers, and whispered again, "Never turn yourself away from me, I will see all of you."

A light knock tapped on the door, making the pair jump and the moment dissipate. Damon sighed and kissed her on the forehead before pulling away. She turned her tense body away from the newcomer on the other side of the bedroom door.

"It's okay. I ordered some tea," Damon replied as he left the bed and accepted the silver tray from the butler. "I will take it. It's fine, Charles. Please." Aila heard from behind her. It seemed the butler was used to placing the tea down in the room.

Once the door was closed again, Aila turned around and pulled some of her hair away from her face. Goosebumps began to spread across her body; she was cold from Damon's absent body and cold in general. Now that Aila wasn't crying, she became numb. Was she going into shock? Aila looked to her wolf for guidance, but from what she could tell, her wolf had hidden away in the depths of her mind and was currently asleep. 

The death of Hollie had hit her hard, too, because although Malia was locked away from Aila throughout most of their life together, it didn't mean she was never there. Malia watched quietly at Aila's life; she was there when Aila met Hollie and all the other times the girls spent together. She, too, was feeling the loss of her best friend.

Aila wrapped her hands around the cup Damon handed her. She used its heat to at least warm her hands up before sipping it and sighing as the liquid went down her throat smoothly, making her rough form feel a little better. The warmth spread throughout her as she swigged the tea in comfortable silence.

As soon as she leaned over to place her cup down on the bedside table, Damon wrapped his arms around her, pulling her towards him on the bed. He spooned her and gently kissed her behind her ear, making her shiver.

"Are you still cold?" He asked softly, his voice filled with concern. Aila chuckled lightly and spun around to face him, and he pulled her closer, so there was no space between them but where their heads lay on the pillows.

"How did you know I was cold?" She replied and looked down at his chest, tracing small circles with her fingers over his shirt, enjoying the feeling of his hardened muscles beneath stretching the fabric.

"Because I can sense it," Damon kissed her head and whispered ever so lightly, "the bond is growing stronger."

"I'm sorry about today," Aila began, but Damon shushed her gently and rolled onto his back, pulling her with him.

Aila let her leg go over his and rested her head on his chest, Damon's arms wrapped around her protectively. She couldn't help the turmoil of emotions building in her, but she also felt a numbness flattening over them, trying to dull the pain that rose and fell with her breathing. But Aila also felt warm, like she was home.

Damon's arms felt like a warm shield, keeping the iciness of her body at bay. His hand stroked her hair at her temple. The motion soothed her as she closed her heavy eyes. 

Aila's pounding head slowly became dull after having some tea and feeling the comfort of Damon's embrace. Yet, her body felt heavy and drained, and so she happily let herself drift off to sleep, pushing back her all-consuming worries for another time.

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