HUNTED

After finishing their breakfast, each of the pack leaders went their separate ways; their goal, of course, was to search for Aila. Beta Kane and Nairi led their own group of warriors in different locations; Gamma Chiara continued to patrol around the pack territory, going from the mountain range, the town, and the vast fields surrounding the mansion. 

Ajax would shift into his falcon form once he dropped off Elle at the school on the estate. While Delta Finn was left with Damon, following behind the brooding Alpha quietly. He was to stay by his side as extra protection and as a means to serve him.

There was only so much his pack and the other packs could do; Damon didn't know where else the vampire could have possibly taken her. And without Gabriel's help, who knew his brother better than anybody, Damon was feeling more and more useless as the days went by. The only part about this was that he was confident Cassius would not be quiet for long, but he wanted to find Aila before his plans were known to them. 

The Alpha and Delta walked down the hallway, past the library Damon had not entered since Aila was gone, and his phone rang. He pulled out his smartphone from his shorts and frowned when he realised his burner phone was the one ringing. Damon put the phone against his ear immediately, holding his breath to hear some good news. "Chase," He answered while stepping into his half-destroyed office. He kept the door open for Finn, taking the werewolf by surprise. 

Finn scrambled forwards, and Damon let go of the door, circling around the desk until he sat comfortably in the leather chair, turning his back to the room and staring out of the window that had duct tape covering half of it from where he'd leapt through it in his wolf form. 

"This is only a quick call. I don't have much time," Chase spoke urgently down the phone. 

Damon straightened his back at the tone of his voice. The ex-hunter, their 'inside man' to the Hunters Association, had his own resources to find Aila. The hunters also wanted to know the Alpha Queen's location for their own purposes, though he trusted Chase to lead them astray if they did get any leads. Chase had messaged or called once a week when he had a spare moment; most of the time, Damon would receive a text message saying 'no new leads', and if he phoned, it was to see how he was doing.

That in itself was stranger than anything. Damon never thought there would be a day he would be on the phone with a hunter, and that hunter even asked about his week. But that was his mate for him; she somehow brought people together he never anticipated being on friendly terms with. 

"Go on," Damon replied, tapping his fingers against the leather armrest. 

"I don't have the full details yet. But I may have a lead." A banging sound in the background made the hunter pause, and Damon listened further to the sound of Chase's footsteps and the rustling from his movements. "One of the guys reported back after one of their missions failed in Qina. There were only two survivors. But they described two vampires going by the same descriptions as Cassius and Aila. White hair, blue eyes, the man wearing a suit and the girl a dress."

Qina!?

Qina was a town two hours away; it was situated near the border between the Northern and Southern territories of the two Alpha Kings. A deep frown formed on Damon's face; he wondered how none of the packs in the area had seen them. But he knew searching for Aila would be tricky; Cassius could use mind control to make his people forget they ever saw them. Even though he was grateful for this news, he was concerned about what might have gone wrong for the two hunters to escape Cassius' grasp. 

He killed thirteen of his pack mercilessly, but two hunters escaped him. He didn't feel anything through the bond, so Aila must be safe. Still, Damon's grip on the phone tightened, and the pressure almost made the screen shatter. He took a deep breath in and relaxed his hold, trying to remain calm. "How long ago was this?" He asked quietly, making his voice sound calm and neutral as his mind continued to race at the first lead they'd had since Aila had gone missing. 

"I phoned you as soon as I was free. My men returned two days ago and reported to me today after receiving treatment," Chase whispered. 

"Two days ago!?" Damon slammed his fist on the armrest and shot up from his chair as anger surged through him. His chest heaved, and his body started to shake; he had to work on trying not to shift right then.

Cassius and Aila would be long gone by now.

"Damon, calm down," Darius snapped. In response to his wolf, Damon growled but paused after realising Darius was extremely calm, excited and irritated at Damon. "Of course, you are annoying me with your idiocy. Cassius was in Qina two days ago, that's not too far from here, and it's been a month. If he was planning on running far away with Aila, he would have done it by now. Even if they have moved on from Qina-"

"They might still be in the area!" Damon finished his wolf's sentence, slumping back into the leather desk chair. Darius huffed and grumbled to himself about Damon.

"Damon!" Chase snapped. The Alpha forgot Chase kept calling his name while listening to his wolf. "I have to go. But like I said before, I will keep an eye out. Oh, also Sariyah will call Finn tonight at 10pm." With that, he hung up, not waiting for Damon's thanks. 

Damon turned and looked at Finn. The Delta had a slight smile tugging on his lips at the mention of his mate's name. Damon, in return, felt a smile pull on his lips, but for an entirely different reason. There was a new lead. He pushed off from the chair and dashed towards the door. 

"Alpha? What are your orders?" Finn asked, quickening his feet to keep up with Damon's fast pace. 

"What do you think?" He smirked, looking at his Delta, his silver eyes full of life for the first time in weeks. "We are going to Qina."

Finn's face lit up. Damon knew he wanted to prove himself, and this was precisely what he needed. No matter if he told the Delta that it wasn't his fault, Finn wouldn't believe him. 

"Kane, Nairi, have you left yet?" He mind-linked the couple. 

"We were leaving now," Kane responded for both of them. 

"Change of plan, go to the living room," Damon replied, marching in that direction. He wanted to rush out to Qina straight away, but he couldn't be rash; he was the Alpha and needed a plan. "Tell the warriors to be on standby."

"Understood, Alpha," Kane and Nairi mind-linked back. 

Damon and Finn entered the living room. The Alpha started to pace while Finn stood with his arms crossed on guard still, though Damon could see his leg twitching in excitement. 

"Tell Ajax to return as well. If he's not back in time, then we will leave without him," Damon ordered Finn, knowing he was the only one able to mind-link the shapeshifter. Quite frankly, he was glad Ajax couldn't mind-link him; it would cause him so many headaches.

"Understood," Finn bared his neck in response. Damon watched with intrigue as Finn mind-linked the shapeshifter, and from the Delta's expressions, it confirmed Damon's suspicions about getting a headache from listening to his voice. The Delta cringed, rolled his eyes and sighed within a minute of mind-linking the shapeshifter.

Ah, he almost forgot. "Chiara," Damon sent a mind-link through to the Gamma and felt the connection. "We have a lead on Aila. I need you to continue guarding the pack. I will let you know when we are leaving so you can return to the packhouse. Silver Crescent will be in your care until I return."

"Aila.." Chiara let out a relieved sigh then recomposed herself. "I understand, Alpha. I will return to the packhouse when I finish this circuit."

Damon disconnected as Kane and Nairi rushed into the living room. Nairi's eyes were wide and filled with excitement and tears, and her mate Kane, who was usually as stoic as Damon, also appeared to shine brightly with anticipation.

Everyone was rearing to go to get their Alpha Queen back.