HUNTED

Damon left Aila and started heading towards the basement. He used these spare minutes to get his thoughts in order before he had to deal with the prick downstairs. He had no words to describe the night before.

It went from him officially introducing Aila to the pack as his mate after showing how much of a fighter she was during training to chasing after her, nearly mating, to searching for a vampire. A vampire that ended up taking out 13 of his pack members because he had a crush on Aila or wanted something in return. He had no doubt about it. 

Damon didn't know what to think, whether that made Gabriel an ally or an enemy. An ally to Aila but an enemy to him. Aila was his and no one else's. Nobody dared to touch her now, not that they did before, except for Finn and Ajax, which initially made his blood boil.

Yet, he felt the mate bond growing stronger, and he could feel Aila's feelings growing more for him. This seemed to calm Darius and his ugly jealous side that he never had until he saw Aila again. Of course, as children, they only felt friendship towards each other; in all honesty, he initially found her annoying. But after she received Malia, something changed, and he wanted to hang out with her. Although he discovered their parents observing them from time to time, as though they were waiting for something.

When he grew up, his mum told him how they planned to set him and Aila up. If things didn't go the way they did or if Aila wasn't his mate, then they were going to be put into an arranged marriage to officially set up a union between the royal families. 

Damon shook his head at how things turned out. He opened the door to the basement and felt a smile tug at his lips; at least a few good things came out from the night. Aila remembered him. She didn't remember everything, which he was pleased about. The night her parents were murdered was not something Damon wanted her to remember; he didn't want her to be haunted by it. At least, though, she remembered their friendship. He could feel from the bond that she whole-heartedly trusted him now.

As he descended the stairs, he found Beta Kane already leaning against the counter, arms crossed, dressed in shorts and a t-shirt with rubber gloves on his hands while looking at Darren threateningly. Kane turned his head and smiled, approaching Damon as though they were meeting in a bar. He slapped Damon on the back, "Took your damn time. I've had to stare at his ugly face for the last 5 minutes."

Damon chuckled, but his eyes hardened as he looked down at Darren sitting on the ground leaning against the wall, his hands hung by his sides from the silver shackles tied pinned to the wall.

  "Well, there are much nicer things to look at in here.."

"I didn't fancy looking at the dirt on my shoes. Not sure what's worse. It's still ugly.." Kane continued with his insult.

"Ha. Ha. I get the point. I went too far last night. Look, I'm sorry, Damon. Can you let me out? I'm sorry, alright?" Darren spoke through clenched teeth. Damon tsked at his words, and Kane smacked the bars repeatedly with a silver crowbar.  The sound rang in Damon's ears, and he grimaced.

"That's Alpha Damon. Or did you lose some brain cells after last night?" Kane growled, his eyes burning as he looked at the Delta in disdain. 

Stepping forwards, Damon narrowed his eyes with a sardonic smile; he said, "Now, why would I let you out?" 

Darren's eyes widened before panic settled on his features, "Wait. Wait, Alpha, please. You cannot be serious? I'm not staying in here?! I am not your prisoner! You cannot keep me in here!"

"Oh.." Damon drawled; a flicker of amusement lit his eyes. He was enjoying the Delta squirming like the worm he was, "Are YOU telling me how to run things around here?"

Darren leaned forwards, grimacing as the shackles cut into his skin more, "No, no, of course not. Please," he bared his neck, "I did not mean to challenge you… But Alpha, you have nothing on me to keep me in here. I was merely speaking on behalf of the people."

Damon tilted his head slightly as he let Darren's words sink in, "On behalf of the people.. you say. Give me their names so we can speak freely about their worries."

He watched as Darren's eyes flickered, as though he was deep in thought. This made Damon's temper begin to surface.

"Even now, he disrespects us. If he truly followed us, he would tell the names of these people. Let me take over, and you can blame it on me for his 'accidental' death," Darius growled, echoing through Damon's mind. 

"Let's see how this plays out first." 

Darius settled back down, waiting eagerly for the 'go ahead'. Damon approached the bars and crossed his arms, ready to order the Beta to give him wolfsbane, when the basement door swung open.

"Is anyone else meant to be here?" Kane mind-linked Damon.

"Yes, and he's late," Damon snapped back. His temper already beginning to show. 

Without turning his head to the newcomer, he said slowly, "You are late. This is not a promising start for you.."

"I'm sorry, Alpha. Aila-"

"Enough, just watch", Damon mind-linked Finn. As soon as he mentioned Aila's name, Damon didn't have an issue with his tardiness. 

"Tell me, Darren, and I will set you free," Damon continued. 

It was true; he couldn't keep Darren in there for long. There would be more issues from his family, which was a headache. The previous delta: Darren's father was fine, a little arrogant, but nothing Damon couldn't put up with. Whereas Darren was a cocky bastard that needed putting in his place. He acted as though the world owed him everything and everyone else was inferior to him.

Darren finally conceded and listed a number of names. Damon looked to Kane, who had the names of the thirteen  who perished the evening before on his phone; he nodded his head after the last name was mentioned, "And Hailey Bassil.."

Her name made Damon whip his head back and look at Darren, "Hailey?" the Delta nodded his head, "Lydia's friend, Hailey?"

Darren paused and gulped, "Yes."

Damon clenched his teeth together; he should have known that bitch, who he had no recollection of, was part of the thirteen. She made an effort in making Aila and Damon's night more eventful by showing him images of Aila and Ajax on a date, when in actual fact, Finn was sitting next to them. The image was clear in his mind, making his body burn with anger again, Ajax with his hand on top of hers.. 

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers and closed his eyes, calming down. It was a misunderstanding, and Aila was his. Aila was his mate, and he was not jealous.

"Will this be your mantra from now on?" Darius snickered.

"There is no need to be jealous, is there?" Damon asked as he tried to convince himself. 

"The jealousy will go once she is marked," Darius replied with a comment he often repeated to Damon.

It seemed Gabriel's intel, however, he got it, was correct. Yet, Lydia was left alive and Darren not touched. Although Darren was most likely the hardest to get to and the most protected, the vampire may have run out of time. 

"As much as I hate the bloodsuckers.. He could have helped us with this cockroach," Darius sneered.

"Unless it's coming from Aila.. I don't think he is taking requests," Damon joked, "but even still, we could not. It would make our pack look weak, and we are not."

While Damon and Darius were chatting, Kane strolled forwards and continued with their interrogation, "You know, she survived the attack last night."

Darren looked up at him, "W-what attack?"

Kane scratched the back of his head, "Shit, sorry, man. I forgot news doesn't travel down here.." His voice dripped with sarcasm before he continued, "A vampire attacked the pack last night, killing thirteen people, leaving one survivor."

"Fuck! How is she? Shit, I need to get out of here and see her. Please, Alpha, I can't stay in here while she's.. How bad is it?" Darren began blubbering.

Damon and Kane looked at each other just as Finn mind-linked them, "It seems they are lovers."

"Well, who can blame him. He's an ugly fuck, and she's a beaut. An ugly fucker on the inside, but a beaut. I wouldn't put it past her to spread her legs for him," Kane continued in the mind-link.

"Lydia is manipulative.." Damon replied. 

"Lydia's okay. In the hospital, having a blood transfusion. The leech that did it drank from her. She was not meant to survive," Kane spoke aloud to Darren.

The men watched as Darren's eyes filled up with tears. 

Well, shit. He has a heart. A heart to a cold-hearted bitch.

Damon turned his back on the Delta and looked at the briefcase left on the counter. He planned with Kane beforehand to use wolfsbane on Darren in punishment. The smallest ounce of guilt crept inside him at torturing him when he was emotional.

But he still planned on doing it, reminding himself, the shit storm Darren stirred up the evening before and being the cause for Aila to have a mental breakdown.

"Finn, get the wolfsbane ready. I want you to inject it all," Damon commanded through the mind-link. 

Finn looked at him in surprise, "Now?"

"Do you have a better time?" Damon knew why he was asking, but rules were rules. 

Lydia wasn't dead, and it was now confirmed that the thirteen, along with Darren and Lydia, were all rallying together to do something against Aila. There was not enough proof to condemn them, and having a vampire do their dirty work did not look good for Damon or Aila. 

Finn shook his head and turned around with pursed lips, and grabbed a syringe from the briefcase. Damon mind-linked him again, "This is for Aila. I don't need to remind you why we are here. He might be a sniffling mess right now, but he is here for a reason. And he confirmed what was on that note."

Damon's words seemed to have reassured Finn as he watched his face harden before approaching the cell doors.

It was going to be a long night. 

Unlike the shotgun noise that was smothered in the underground rooms of the mansion, the man's scream resounded across the building, causing anyone nearby to stop what they were doing and look around. A minute later, a mind-link from the Alpha reassured them everything was fine. 

[ Little Authors Note: I noticed comments on webnovel being removed due to 'inappropriate language', even for words such as 'sex', apparently, die and hell also. I love seeing your passionate comments, but the site does not :-( Try and use stars ** or for example replacing bitch with bish. I know, I know, I feel odd leaving a comment about this, but I don't like seeing your funny comments removed!! P.s - note has been added in after and has not affected the price of the chapter! XOXO]

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