HUNTED

Aila sat staring into space; her thoughts were still consumed by the fact that she was not wholly human. She analysed every little detail about her life if anything out of the ordinary stood out. Being allergic to silver was not uncommon; people got rashes all the time from petty little things like that, but it was only now that it affected her more.

Her mind wandered at another minor detail that stood out. She always had a way with animals, more so with dogs than the others; it was one of the many reasons she wanted to become a vet. If an owner brought a dog in that was 'violent' or was muzzled for their safety, Aila seemed to have this magic touch that would calm the animal down and obey her, staying on their best behaviour. Henceforth, she would remove the muzzle and cuddle them. She just presumed they were not used to a gentle touch, or they were a very anxious dog that lashed out.

Her parents-her adopted parents, always joked that she had a gift. Oh, how right they truly were! If being a werewolf was indeed a gift. Aila's brows creased together. Did they know? She pondered. She shook her head; of course, they did not know that if she didn't know herself, that she was a werewolf, how could anybody else?

Her eyes widened in shock after putting two and two together. She realised that the wolves in the forest must have been werewolves, yet she imagined werewolves to be the kind that stood on their hind legs towering over anybody that faced it. Did they know she was one?

Tilting her head, she wondered how she went so long without knowing that she was this thing, this animal. She did not understand what a werewolf meant being, but she knew it was not a good thing from the basics she learned from TV shows.

"You have been very entertaining."

Aila looked to her left to see Ajax watching her intently while sitting on the floor next to the bars. Her confused expression made him chuckle,

"You have been pulling faces for the last hour now."

"I just found out I am a werewolf. I'm allowed to have a moment." Aila glanced back at Ajax, who continued to stare, "Also, stop being a creep! Staring at someone for an hour is not normal behaviour!"

Ajax placed his hand on his chest, mock hurt at her comment, "But you've been the most entertaining thing since I arrived here."

"Okay, just dial it down a notch," Aila brought her thumb and finger close together, with only a little space in between, indicating a small amount.

"At least he will be off our cases," Finn piped up from his slouched position on the other side of the wall to Aila. Glancing at him, she noticed he was clutching his stomach. Instead of approaching him this time, she questioned him from where she sat,

"What's wrong?"

Finn noticed her eyeing where his hand lay; he unzipped the top part of the coveralls he wore, revealing his stomach. Aila gasped at what she saw. Dried blood covered his ribs and belly, along with a stitch going from the middle of his chest down to his protruding hip bone. Not only was he covered in bruises, but he was also skinny from being underfed.

When she glanced back up to his face, she saw his brown eyes were sunk in with hollow cheekbones that needed filling out. Looking away, Aila clenched her teeth together; anger bubbled up inside of her at the sight of him and the situation they were in. She glanced from him to the darkened corner Gabriel hid in, to the cell Ajax occupied. These men were near the same age as her; they had lives before this, families that were probably still looking for them.

She did not care if she would be punished. She will never give up hope on trying to escape; after looking at Finn, it only motivated her more to get herself and the rest of the 'Prisoners Club' the hell out of there.

"It will heal soon. Don't worry."

Aila looked back up at Finn's face that was now coated in sweat. Not a good sign that he was healing; it was more of a sign that he could have an infection. Worry lines formed on her head,

"What did they do?"

"Robert wanted a rib, and he took another organ out. I am not sure what, though, I passed out."

"Another organ?!" Ajax asked casually as though this was a weekly occurrence.

Aila opened her mouth to ask her bubbling questions, but Finn beat her to it,

"Yep. I don't know what they keep doing with them."

Aila looked between the pair, confused,

"What do you mean by 'THEM'? How many ORGANS have they taken? How are you alive right now!? And how were you awake when Robert opened you up?! And who the hell is Robert?!" Aila couldn't help herself, blurting out question after question to the point that she became breathless.

"Breathe, Aila" Ajax reached through the bars and squeezed her shoulder gently.

Calming herself down, she inhaled deeply and returned Finn's concerned gaze.

"I heal quickly. WE heal quickly. This is not the first time he has removed something from me. The only reason I passed out is because of the pain," he spat out the last sentence, "Robert is the man who experiments on us. Unfortunately, you will meet him soon. He walks around in a lab coat, scruffy-looking, glasses, calls himself a man of science."

Both Finn and Ajax scoffed at the last statement while Aila stared wide-eyed at this new information,

"Again. How are you alive? Quick healing or not. If an important organ was removed, your body would slowly stop functioning, depending on what was taken."

Finn grinned back at her,

"Spose it just regrows back," he chuckled then hissed in pain, "You will see. There are jars of them in one of the labs. And I am the only werewolf they have been dissecting."

Aila was still stunned at what she was hearing, but her ears perked up then, "Why just you? What about Gabriel?"

Finn growled at her involuntarily then cast his eyes down apologetically with a sheepish smile. At the same time, Gabriel suddenly emerged from the shadows again. In the blink of an eye, he was leaning on the bars, smiling, showing off his pearlescent teeth. That had a pair of fangs. Aila took a double take as her eyes widened.

She will seriously get wrinkles by the end of the evening from the number of faces she kept pulling from all the surprises!

"Ugh, do not compare me to you, animals," Gabriel said condescendingly.

Finn growled back at him, and Ajax made a cat-like hiss from beside her while she stared at Gabriel's sharp fangs.

"Better than being a leech," Finn retorted.

"Oh!" Ajax shouted like a jock from the sidelines. Gabriel just glared at the pair of them.

Aila nodded her head with a pout, her face now skeptical. Gabriel was a pale, outlandishly beautiful man. He kept hidden in the dark parts of his cell, avoiding the daylight. He was just insulted as a leech. Of course, why didn't she put two and two together? If there are werewolves and shapeshifters, then there has to be vampires. She rolled her eyes at herself and the world she was now apparently apart of.

"Gabriel.." Her voice came out in a whisper; she could not help it. Was she meant to be afraid of him now? She was technically his food?

"Yes?"

Her eyes widened again. Gabriel heard her from over there! Wait, they were all some type of being. That means all of them have excellent hearing. Yet, she still didn't. Was there something wrong with her?

"I don't have all day to watch you have an internal battle with yourself," Gabriel calmly said with a hint of impatience.

"What else you gonna do? Go out for dinner? See a movie? Count the tiles on the ceiling.." Finn piped up again but hushed after Gabriel sent him daggers.

"Gabriel... it's quite ironic. Your name is that of the angel, Gabriel, but you are a vampire…"

Aila seriously needed to learn when and when not to blabber such things; she watched as a flash of hurt crossed his features but was quickly replaced with a smirk,

"Known as the devil's spawn?" He finished her sentence.

Aila bit her tongue while the two men at her sides chuckled.

Gabriel sighed, "It has crossed my mind once or twice over the centuries."

"Wait, hold up. Centuries? How old are you?"

Pushing aside her fears of the man, no, correction-vampire, Aila now stood and made her way towards the bars he leaned against.

"You know it is quite rude to ask someone how old they are. ESPECIALLY a vampire. But because you are just a pup, I will let you off. Just this once." Although his voice was menacing, his eyes had softened towards her.

Now that she was just a step away from him, she could see his features more clearly now; although his eyes were the colour of the bluest ocean, there were flecks of red spreading out from the pupils. Suddenly, a veil of fog slowly invaded her mind while staring into those deep blue orbs of his. Gabriel smiled warmly at her as she unknowingly leaned closer to him.

"Aila!"

A yank by the arm forced her away from the compelling being, snapping her out of her daze. Her mind cleared instantly; glancing to the side, she saw Finn now facing Gabriel, his eyes sending him daggers. Gabriel, however, did not pay heed to the other werewolf; he continued to only stare at Aila.

"What just happened?" Aila asked a look of bewilderment settled on her face.

The tension in the room was now palpable. Gabriel ignored her question as a predatory grin formed on his face; the light glinted off his fangs, sending a shiver down her spine.

"He tried using mind control on you," Finn spat.

"Tried," Gabriel scoffed as he openly rolled his eyes, "It's called compulsion. Now stop giving away my secrets."

"You gave your own secret away!" Ajax intervened.

"I wanted to see if she is weak-willed."

"Well, you know what they say about curiosity," Said Ajax.

"Good thing I am no cat." Gabriel finally moved his eyes away from Aila to look at the shapeshifter across from him.

Although her mind was muddled with more things to worry about, she only just noticed how Gabriel was not affected by the silver bars.

"If you are centuries old, doesn't that make you strong? Can't you just break free from your cell? Or have all the shows I have watched on vampires got it wrong?"

Her question interrupted the conversation she blatantly did not listen to. Gabriel looked back at her coldly, his jaw now ticked at her inquiry.

"If I could break through the bars, do you really think I would still be here? They put a drug in the air ducts that purely affect vampires. I am always kept in a weakened state; they release it every 30 minutes. It used to be every hour, but after I ripped a few of the hunter's heads off on one of my escapes, they increased my dosage." Gabriel's lips twitched in amusement.

Aila's little hope of the vampire rescue she envisioned dashed out the window after his story. Sighing, she sat back down in her original position near Ajax, and after a while, she realised how fatigued she felt. Even though she was away from Connor, the aftereffects of his morning's beating and the wolfsbane were still taking effect. As she leaned her head back against the wall, she felt her eyes droop shut. Although her mind was overloaded with all the new information, it did not take her long to fall into a dreamless sleep.

After what felt like minutes but was hours, a loud bang and some shuffling jolted her body awake; her eyes fluttered open as her heart hammered out of her chest. It took her a moment to realise the noise was from the cell door and Finn was being dragged away by two men dressed in black military attire. Her jaw clenched as she watched Finn struggle against the men before he was out of her sight going up the stairs.

A pang of anger burst through her chest. Heating her body as her nails lengthened into claws by her sides, unbeknown to Aila. She was too consumed by one thought that went through her mind:

They needed to escape.

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