HUNTED-Chapter 304: Her Beta

Aila stared at Cassius, disbelief turning her tear-filled eyes into a glare, the red flecks dazzling those nearby. Kane was gasping, struggling in Cassius’ hold; the others took a sharp intake of breath, holding it and then there was her mate’s breathing that relaxed her. It has returned to normal.

In only a few seconds, she’d assessed Damon’s injuries through the bond, they were still there, but he was brimming with energy now. Aila fell back, the last of her tears drying up as she watched her mate pull his paw away from hers.

The shock of his paw leaving her hand made Aila flinch. The golden glow dulled until there was no more light leaving her with a broken body that now throbbed and ached in pain.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

"Aila," Cassius growled, returning her attention to him. Damon had jumped up, now fully aware of the situation, though she could feel through the bond he wanted to whisk her away and take care of her. His guilt over her healing him grew, but she stumbled to her feet and gently stroked his snout.

"Let him go, Cass," Aila replied quietly, her legs almost buckling beneath her. She leaned her hand onto Damon for stability and waited, watching as the vampire held onto her Beta.

"Come here first," Cassius commanded just as softly; if they weren’t all supernatural, then his voice wouldn’t have drifted so easily to their ears.

"Aila.." Damon mind-linked her, his voice hesitant. He wanted his Beta safe, but this whole situation unnerved him more.

"Patience," she replied, stepping away from him, stumbling forwards, but strong arms caught her. She looked up to see Davian with his brows furrowed and lips thin. He assisted her return to Cassius’ side, more like forced her forwards, escorting her with his hand gripping tightly into her upper arm. Davian was always gentle, and that was how she knew he was being controlled.

Just as Aila was scowling at him, Harry leapt in between them, barging Davian away, a growl ripping through his lips. The hybrid squared up to him, each as large as the other, muscles upon muscles, bristling in rage.

However, one thing that seemed to lighten Aila’s mood by a minuscule amount was that Harry only wore very tight, bright pink short shorts with the words ’yummy’ in gold sequins on his ass. Which didn’t leave much to the imagination anyway, and he still seemed to stand there naked. He’d shifted and somehow found those lying about.

Her gaze drifted from Harry as she stood to the side of Cassius, her eyes landing on her mate, who didn’t bother looking at the hybrid and lycan barely holding it together. He watched only her. The tether between them was taut, straining like there was only so much either one of them could take now.

The only thing stopping Aila from accepting his silent pleading pewter eyes was the fact he was breathing, his injuries were almost healed, and she would see him leave mostly unharmed and alive.

"Release him." Aila turned her head to Cassius, her eyes hardening the longer he continued to hold onto Kane’s heart. "You have what you came for," she growled dangerously, the rumbling low in her throat.

Cassius’ eyes flicked between hers, his hand tightening on Kane’s heart; she took a step forwards, feeling the pain in her own chest. The pain of one of her pack members on death’s door. But in one swift, violent and heartless move, Cassius threw the Beta towards Damon. The Alpha King could have moved out of the way, but he remained, softening Kane’s fall.

Damon growled and rolled to his side, looking up to see Cassius had drawn his blood, letting Aila drink from his wrist while the vampire glared at Damon.

His growl intensified, making the rubble and buildings shake, and any humans clutching their phones, recording them to drop onto the ground with a yelp. He didn’t like to see Cassius’ bloodied hands on his Aila, but as he took a step towards them, he paused, watching the back of her head clotting and closing; the blood stopped, and he heard something crack into place.

Aila jolted slightly, but still, she clasped at Cassius’s wrist like his blood was something euphoric.

With the wall in the bond now collapsed, Damon could now feel the high she was riding and how addictive it was. Reluctantly and forcefully, Aila pushed Cassius’ arm away, gasping.

"We need to get them to safety, Damon. Esme has yet to wake up, and Kane is struggling to keep his eyes open," Darius’ commanding voice ripped Damon’s eyes away from his mate, as hard as it was, and turned to his pack.

"Move out! Finn, take Esme, Ajax, find us a vehicle!" He barked commands through the mind-link. Finn repeated his order to Ajax, and they split to complete their tasks as Damon stalked to his Beta, who remained in his wolf form, panting, his fur going damp with sweat from healing.

Damon locked his jaw on the scruff at the back of the golden wolf’s neck and yanked him on top of his giant form. Kane was heavy and in an uncomfortable position, but it would have to do for now. He took one last look at Aila, who watched him behind shadowed eyes, heartache and pain thrummed between them in the bond, and Darius’ words from before returned to him. This was the last time.

No matter whether she had the damned information or not, Aila was to return with him. He’d make sure of it.

The Alpha King turned away from her, leading the group away in the opposite direction. The further they travelled through the city, the uproars of screams and cries echoed through the streets, but his mind turned to Gabriel. Damon thought Cassius was treating Aila to Clint, who was now nothing more than ash on the rooftop of the Hunters Association headquarters. He was wrong.

The vampire wanted to lure Gabriel away as well. The day was to enact revenge on a hunter and Cassius’ brother, yet he did not kill him.

After today’s fighting, Damon realised just how strong Cassius was, and Gabriel was the only one who could take him on. But would they fight? Would they fight to the death? They were brothers, and their bond seemed much deeper than it appeared. Gabriel may have spat at his name, but they had thousands of years together to love and hate one another.

Although Gabriel had profoundly pissed Cassius off, killing their lover and locking him away in a tomb, he wasn’t sure if Cassius would kill Gabriel, he had plenty of chances to, not just today but in the hundreds of years he remained ’contained in a tomb’. Likewise, Gabriel put him in a tomb, so he didn’t have to kill his brother.

"Death or not. Cass needs to be stopped, and we need our Aila back," Darius growled. His wolf was restless to bite the fuckers head off and, at the same time, wanted his mate in their arms. Damon hated the vampire’s control over Aila and wanted nothing more than to curl up with her under some blankets and forget about the world and its worries for a while.

But that didn’t seem possible anytime soon. Especially with the sound of a helicopter, police sirens and possibly the human military force along with the hunters now tailing them. Fuck Cassius. He’s exposed them to the humans.