HUNTED

The group dispersed after the long talks about Chase and Sariah 'going undercover'. Aila was the most worried it seemed out of the group by persistently asking questions in Chase' plan. There were many risks, and she needed to be at ease with him going and knowing each meticulous detail. One huge hiccup, in particular, was Clint. He was still among the hunters and knew Chase was no longer with them.

Chase tried reassuring her that he would take care of him. But it made her more nervous than confident. However, Chase insisted that he would use the hunter's resources in finding Clint. He was optimistic that the hunter had probably moved onto another compound, and it wouldn't take too long to find him.

After their final discussions on the matter, Aila was the first to stand up and stretch before grabbing the diary she left on the table. She looked at Damon, wondering if he would come with her to the upstairs library/lounge area, but his phone interrupted her silent question.

Damon sighed and raked his hand through his hair. "It's the Alpha King," He muttered and answered the phone. Aila kissed him on the cheek as a farewell, she knew their discussions could get quite heated, and they were more so as of late. Mainly because of their attack on the compound and the recklessness of it.

Rumours were flowing through the packs about the death of Silas Hunt. It all started after they went to the Shadow pack to interrogate the hunters. Word of Silver Crescent, Alpha King and the white wolf attacking the hunters spread like wildfire with crazy stories. Damon was apparently already infamous for his brutality on enemy packs, and now it seemed Aila was becoming well known. Aila only knew from Nairi's text messages, who kept updating her.

Ajax followed behind Aila while his gaze looked upon Finn and Sariah, who started to walk along the terrace to the railing for views of the city. Chase and Gabriel seemed to be in a silent discussion staring at each other while Kane waited by Damon's side like a bodyguard. It seemed the only time Kane relaxed was when he was Nairi, but then he was the Beta of the pack, second in command after Aila and Damon's right-hand man.

Aila and Ajax walked side by side; the shapeshifter whistled a bright tune with his hands behind his head as they ascended to the floor with the open spaced lounge/library overlooking the piano and lounge area. Aila slumped down onto the leather armchair facing the floor-to-ceiling windows and watched the bustling city life before her. She stared quietly, watching the near ant-sized people flock across the streets, going off on their everyday mundane lives. Aila listened to the slow-moving traffic with the occasional angry driver shouting insults. Cyclists whizzed past them, and further back in the distance was a large park providing some much-needed greenery.

Aila clutched the diary to her chest as though it would disappear. Yet her thoughts were not on anything in particular. She was happy people watching. It was still surreal for her. Since the moment she went for a run in the woods, her life had turned completely upside down, and her life had become fast-paced to the point she had probably aged some. Aila unknowingly let out a sigh, getting lost in the scenery before her.

"What ya thinking about princess?" Ajax asked, leaning over the back of her chair and staring down at her. Aila tilted her head back, relaxing her neck on the leather material.

"For once, Ajax, my mind was completely empty. Is this what it feels like for you all the time?" She smirked.

Ajax mock gasped, covering his mouth with his hand. "Are you trying to insinuate I am an airhead?!"

Aila bit her lip, refraining from laughing. Ajax flicked her forehead with his fingers before sitting down on the hanging egg-shaped swing chair next to her. "You'd be surprised at how much goes on inside this beautiful head of mine," He murmured while watching her. Aila was still staring at the high ceiling, her fingers slowly starting to tap against the leather book she still held onto.

"You know you can talk to Finn and me about anything. Gabriel, too.. we would probably understand more than you think," Ajax's usual carefree demeanour was replaced with one of seriousness. Aila lifted her head and leaned her elbow on the armrest, resting her cheek against her fist, assessing the shapeshifter.

"You seem to look your age," She murmured, causing Ajax to raise an eyebrow but not make a witty comment. Her mouth and throat went dry, but she continued to stare at her friend. "The difference is the torture was a perversion, a release for Clint. He treated me like nothing but a living doll. Cutting me then later washing me." Aila quickly looked away when she saw the pity and disgust burning behind Ajax's eyes.

"Aila-"

"Anyway," She cut him off instantly and looked down at the diary in her hands. "It's over with now. If Chase doesn't find him, then I will. He not only tortured me but killed my parents... Someone like that shouldn't be wandering around. I am most certainly not the only victim or the last."

Aila opened the diary, ignoring Ajax's stare that heated one side of her face. Ajax was watching her, but she wanted a distraction again, and what else would be more interesting than her crazy life right now? Davian's diary. Malia was also waiting impatiently to see what the journal would say. Though they had already agreed to Aila not taking Gabriel's blood, she would still read her ancestor's story.

"I hope you will be set free from your sorrows once he is killed," Ajax whispered, interrupting her reverie. "It felt good to rip Silas apart, but.. It would never change the past."

Aila whipped her head to the side at Ajax's words. The sorrow behind them made her chest tighten. But instead of seeing Ajax sitting in his human form, he had shifted into a small black house cat. He hopped over to her armrest before she could say anything, then curled up on her lap, purring. Aila held the diary up, looking down at the cat in confusion.

She had to remind herself it was Ajax and not an ordinary cat. But after a few minutes of sitting uncomfortably and trying to distract herself with opening the diary, she found herself subconsciously stroking his head. The purring was indeed soothing and pushed past any sorrow and conflicting emotions swirling inside of her. Ajax may have been a flirt, but he was a friend first, and she knew this was him comforting her in the best way he could possibly think of.

If only he knew that cats didn't usually like her like dogs did when she worked in the vets. Either way, she felt her lips curl into a small smile at his thoughtfulness, and she slowly forgot that he was indeed a man. Aila began to read a few of Davian's diary pages, already getting absorbed into his life as a fourteen-year-old werewolf.

There was not much at the beginning of the novel, only mentioning such things as his first hunt, his first challenger though he was yet to become Alpha. But after an hour of reading such things that she found delight in, her interest was piqued even more when he first mentioned his mother.