HUNTED-Chapter 303: Chaos in the streets (2)

Aila lunged towards the petite she-wolf; her mind was awake with thoughts screaming at her body to stop, and her muscles were tense from the inner battle inside herself. Malia’s quiet yet frantic voice tried to barge through whatever haze or compulsion she was in while her body acted like a puppet on a string.

Aila noted her master and her mate fighting; again, dread washed over her like icy water pricking into her skin, but that didn’t stop her from counteracting Esme’s swift movements. The she-wolf was nimble and lethal, revealing she was an experienced and quite the acrobatic fighter.

Esme’s heeled boot connected with Aila’s chin, flipping her onto her side. Somehow her foot reached that high, and her mind wandered for a moment. Seriously? She couldn’t comment on Esme and her fighting; she needed to stop herself from attacking her shadow!

The she-wolf tilted her head to the side, her eyes roaming over Aila, assessing her like she was looking for weaknesses. Aila flipped to her feet, hearing Cassius’ command ringing in her mind.

’Do not kill Esme, only injure her. Keep her from Gabriel.’

In the back of her mind, Aila wondered why Cassius didn’t order Esme’s death. It didn’t take much for Aila to realise just how important she was to Gabriel, and if Cassius despised his brother so much, then someone as ruthless as Cassius would order that, right?

It was a fleeting thought, inconsequential, really, as she and Esme fought each other, blood spilling, bruises forming and cracking of a bone somewhere. Yet it still nicked at her.

Aila just knocked the air out of Esme’s lungs, causing her to fall onto her back, swiftly flipping backwards to her toes again as she wheezed for breath. Even as her body thrummed with adrenaline and bounced with the order to fight, Aila’s attention flicked to the side after the loud sound of bones cracking, and a hiss was directed at her.

Aila met Gabriel’s piercing gaze, a murderous glint to them, but he was tackled to the ground by Davian.

Gabriel rolled him over him, fangs ripping into Davian’s neck. He was nothing but a pawn to be played and killed by Cassius, but even as he fed from the hybrid, keeping him locked under his arms, Gabriel knew he could not kill him. In some strange way, Davian felt like a nephew or distant cousin, someone he wanted to protect.

This kid right here was Amelia’s love child, one she’d fucked up immeasurably, turning him into something he never wanted.

The Vampire King felt responsible for Davian, though he was not the one to have experimented on him or to now use him for his whims and ideas like Cassius. Gabriel had created a few vampires himself over the centuries but never had he used the master-childe bond, taking their free will and controlling them.

If they wanted to follow him, stay nearby or travel elsewhere, it was up to them, and he was never in enough danger to call upon them for help.

Davian struggled under Gabriel’s headlock, he tried moving out of it, grappling and moving his legs, but the blood loss made him grow slower. That was until he felt a sudden electrical shock ripple through him, freezing his movements, his jaw releasing, arms slacking.

Red glowing rings snapped around his arms again, the power slithering around his legs, and the prickling, oppressive heat swarmed his chest. He couldn’t move.

The hybrid slid out of his hold, looking up as he inhaled deeply for air.

Gabriel followed his line of sight, barely able to move his head, straining against this magic imprisoning him. The warlock, Zeph, had a clawed hand aimed at him again, though his forehead had beads of sweat showing how strenuous he found the spell. Still, he chanted quietly, repeating the words to keep him in place.

His rescuers, Ajax and Finn, were sprawled on the ground. They, too, were being held down by this warlock’s magic. The same rings were wrapped around them. Indeed, he was powerful. From that moment, Gabriel knew Cassius was getting his way. His brother had a warlock, and they had theirs, but he wasn’t with them.

The guy was capricious and had the hots for Esme. Would he really help?

Davian grabbed him, hoisting him to his feet and started to drag him towards Zeph. Gabriel looked towards Esme, who skilfully had the Alpha Queen pinned beneath her, gritting her teeth and refraining from making a lethal blow. Sensing his stare, the she-wolf turned his way, her eyes widening as Aila grappled out of the position and slammed Esme’s head to the ground.

Still, she held Gabriel’s gaze, uncaring of Aila’s clawed hand now tightening over her airways.

’Einar’, Gabriel growled into her mind as he called to his powers, shattering all the glass from the surrounding buildings into pieces. It was his last defence. The moment the shards hit the ground, they levitated again and darted towards them. Gabriel and Davian would survive, but the warlock would not. The sharp glass fragments zoomed towards them just as a red glow formed around them.

Davian jumped to the side, rolling across the road that burned his skin away, and only a few shards skimmed his cheek and arms. The hybrid looked up as Cassius’ command diminished like a stone in murky water, and he became more aware of his surroundings. Davian watched as Gabriel was swallowed up by a red glow and disappeared.

A howling cry pierced the skies, one turning into a gut-wrenching growl, vicious, feral and utterly rogue-like. Davian looked to see Esme’s eyes glowing a bright amber; she clawed at Aila’s face, uncaring of the cuts she had created on the Alpha Queen’s face. Aila responded with a quick thud to Esme’s head, knocking her out and silencing her.

She blinked and looked down at her hands and Esme, whose tear-stained face glistened beneath her. It was like waking up from a sort of lucid dream. She was aware of what was going on and still had her thoughts streaming through her mind, but she could not control her actions. Slowly, she collapsed back, staring at Esme, and her friends, who jumped up, alert, Ajax uncaring of his nakedness.

Then she looked at Davian.

Her ancestor was weighed down with guilt, his broad shoulders slumped, his pale face grimy with sweat and black hair clinging to his forehead. Davian stared back at her, his eyes swimming as his chest began to vibrate, a low growl growing from it as he directed his attention to Cassius. Aila followed his gaze and gasped as she watched her master smack a black wolf into the side of a building.

The black wolf, Damon fell to the ground in a heap of blood, his breaths wheezy; he struggled to push up onto his paws just as the building bricks tumbled over him.

With each hit, Aila felt a knife stab her through the heart. Her feet moved before she could think as the whole building rumbled and collapsed on top of her mate. Tears sprung to her eyes, and an icy grip of fear clutched at her chest, knotting her stomach to the point she threw up blood and yesterday’s dinner over the ground.

Wiping her mouth, Aila lunged to the dusty area, skidding her knees against the road, her jeans and skin ripping underneath. She threw bricks behind her, growling at the humans who screamed and watched in shock, their cameras aimed at the scene before them. But her focus was on her mate. Through the bond, she could feel the agony he was in; she didn’t care about the façade she’d kept up with Cassius.

THIS WAS HER MATE!

Aila wanted to scream her frustration, but the rise and fall of black fur stirred her into a faster motion. Her hands instantly fretted over Damon; his ribs were broken and piercing his lungs, and one of his legs was at a funny angle, but his head wound made her shaky hand pull away bloodied.

"Aila," Damon’s voice was quiet, rough, but like soft velvet brushing over her skin through a mind-link.

"Shh, shh, I’ve got you, baby." Aila’s voice came out stronger than she felt, but her mind was set. She flicked her gaze at the only pair who continued to fight, Cassius and Kane, and tensed when she saw Finn and Ajax shift, a wolf and a panther darting towards the vampire whose attention was slowly going to Aila.

"They can distract him, even for a little while," Malia whispered through a sob. Her wolf could finally speak to her though it was coated in pain.

"I don’t want them hurt." Aila almost said dead, but she didn’t want to even think of the word.

"Then hurry up!" Malia growled at her, already knowing and agreeing with what she was going to do. Their mate was in a critical condition, and though he could heal himself, it wouldn’t be quick enough to escape, especially with the whole group keeping Cassius at bay.

Davian was starting to go towards Cassius, and Aila could feel the tether of their bond working, but her bond to Damon was much more powerful. Aila ignored the sounds of grunts, growling, and vicious fighting. Her Beta was putting all he could into fighting the deadliest vampire of all besides Gabriel.

She rested her hand against Damon’s paw, hushing him quietly as a golden glow formed between them, her intention clear as her heart weighed down like a stone.

The golden glow formed into dust crawling up Damon’s fur, spreading out towards the back of his head and to his chest. Slowly it turned to liquid and sank into him as a rush of adrenaline and ice shot through Aila’s veins.

What were the words again? Malia thrust the memory forwards of the words Beta Kane spoke to Nairi on that dreadful day she thought her friend was going to die.

"As thy mate, I give thee my health to help recover." The words she spoke softly ripped away a piece of her, a breath escaping her lungs as it flowed down her arm, through her fingers and into her mate. Aila could feel the instant connection; this power of the bond hit Damon’s lungs and the back of his head.

A throbbing pain began in the back of her head and lungs. Slowly it increased to a searing white hot pain, stabbing her repeatedly. Her rib broke, and the back of her head split open, warm liquid pooling at her nape and into her hair. Still, she clutched at Damon’s paw.

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"Aila!" Cassius shouted her name, but she ignored it, closing her eyes to the power and pain surging through her. "If you don’t stop right now, I will kill him."

Aila snapped her eyes open as horror shot through her. Cassius had his hand through Kane’s chest, and she knew already he had a hold on the Beta’s heart. He could easily burst it.