HUNTED-Chapter 314: Time’s Frozen

Aila lowered her hands from her face and straightened from her crouched position. She blinked away the dotted colours, making her vision fuzzy until her sight returned. Aldric and the other two lycans surrounded her protectively, growling at any nearby.

But the vampires that had been near them were groaning on the ground, and some even looked dead with big gaping holes through their hearts, black soot surrounding the area and steam coming from them. Aila remembered there being a bright electric blue light and a blast of wind flew her backwards. Now with the light dimming, Aila could see who was before them.

Standing in front of Cassius was Gabriel. He still wore his suit from before, his shirt stained in blood. By his side was the warlock who had taken him; he had his hands ready, glowing in a dark red hue. Others protected Gabriel’s back. One vampire she recognised, Mr Goldilocks, what was his name? Luther?

Luther looked like he’d dressed to impress, wearing a designer suit, no tie and a few buttons undone, revealing his surprisingly tanned skin, the light green of his shirt bringing out the colour of his eyes. Beside Luther were two other brown-haired vampires, their eyes ringed in red. One was handsome, whose hair was slightly scruffy and in need of a brush and a five-o’clock shadow.

The whole look somehow became more appealing.

He also dressed similarly to Gabriel but wore a waistcoat instead of a full-on suit. Why did he look like he’d just woken up, still scrumptious looking, but his attire was clean and wrinkle-free?

It didn’t matter because the man sauntering around Gabriel and Cassius caught her attention. It was then she also realised she couldn’t move from her spot. In fact, nobody moved. It had been long enough for everyone to react and respond, but nobody did.

That pulled Aila’s attention to the sharp, appealing man draped in a long black cloak over black trousers and a shirt opened to reveal some of his sculpted chest muscles. More buttons were undone than the usual one or two buttons like Luther’s, but he pulled the look off well. The man held an aura of confidence and ease as his two coloured eyes flicked between the twin vampires. Two coloured eyes.

One blue, the other a green ravaged by a burnt orange colour.

Aila felt herself being pulled forwards to look at them more. His raven black hair was long and pulled back into a ponytail, tied at the top by a thin red ribbon, and on one side, there was a single white streak standing out among his luscious locks.

This man was quite exquisite. He was not anything like her, Damon, though. Nobody was. Besides his nearly otherworldly good looks, Aila realised something about him. He had to be a type of warlock, a powerful one at that, because he was the only one capable of moving. He could finish this right then and there if he was on their side.

"Einar? Luther? Niko!" Esme’s voice called from the side. Aila couldn’t turn her head, but she didn’t need to. Esme ran forwards, halting when her eyes landed on the back of Gabriel. "Gabriel!?" She started to go forwards again, but the man with Heterochromia and most likely magic held up his leather-gloved hand.

So he was Einar.

How was Esme moving though?

"Nyx, you know I can’t intervene. This is the best I can do for you and Gabriel. You owe me big time, darling," Einar swept her a bow and patted Gabriel on the shoulder. "Good luck. I know you will do what is right."

Einar walked past the frozen vampires and locked eyes with the warlock who helped kidnap Gabriel. "If it wasn’t for our little mischievous Zeph here, I wouldn’t be able to interject this much. The gods can’t blame me now for a few deaths, though." He winked at the other warlock, and Aila thought she saw him tremble slightly.

Who was Einar? All she could tell from these last few minutes was that he was mighty. The warlock continued to walk until he was before Aila and Esme. His lips pulled back into a dashing smile.

"It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, your majesty. I look forward to working with you in the future." He turned his smile to Esme, his eyes softening slightly as he gazed at her. "Remember your part to play here, Nyx."

With those last words, he clicked his fingers and disappeared. Aila almost fell forwards from feeling her ability to move return to her. But she rebalanced herself and watched in shock as some of the vampires on the ground jumped up, immediately going towards the newcomers. The lycans surrounding her and now Esme growled in response.

But the vampires weren’t paying them attention. Their leader was being threatened.

"Surrender now, Cassius," Gabriel commanded, his voice steely and cold, making Aila shiver at how much his eyes were probably piercing into his brothers.

Cassius smirked and gestured with his hands. "As you can see, you are quite outnumbered. I commend you for breaking free so quickly. A mishap on my part to give Zeph so much trust, really. But these are not your people, Gabriel. They are mine."

Gabriel cast a glance over his shoulders. "Is that so.. Then there’s no point in keeping them alive then," he replied darkly, amusement filling his voice. "Now."

Esme put her fingers to her mouth and whistled. Luther, Niko, and the other vampire, whose name she didn’t find out, spun around and instantly attacked the vampires surrounding them.

More lycans ran from the direction of the dungeons, and simultaneously, and somehow even more shockingly, werewolves in their wolf forms jumped out of the surrounding bushes while others still ran down from the hill towards them.

Aila shut her mouth; she hadn’t been paying attention to the bond. If she had, she’d know Damon was nearby. Instead, she’d been focused on her master, the lycans and her plans to escape with them. Without the lycans, Cassius didn’t have enough power to overthrow everyone. He said that himself.

There were so many lycans running out, taking down a vampire with them or escaping to the woods. Either scene made her heart fill with joy. Though, it was utterly chaotic as the werewolves collided with the vampires with a brutal force.

"Come on. We can’t wait here." Esme grabbed her hand and then yanked her own back after Aldric jumped towards her. The pair eyed each other. Esme crouched, ready for an attack from Aldric, who still stood on his hind legs, ears pinned back, growling.

"Aldric," Aila mind-linked him, raising her hand. "She’s here to help. This is your chance to be free. Take it."

"We will protect you until you are free of him." Aldric turned his head, growling in Cassius’ direction. Aila followed his gaze, her heart tightening as Cassius met her gaze, his eyes slightly widened, shock filtering through their bond. But Aila’s eyes moved to the werewolf behind him, and her heart dropped, making her feel queasy.

Aila wanted to shake her head at him, but it would give him away to Cassius. While Gabriel cornered Cassius from the front, his steps slow and languid, Damon snuck up on the vampire from behind. Davian and Harry fought on Cassius’ right; the lycan was taking a few beatings from the hybrid, and to Cassius’ left, Luther and the other brown-haired vampire fought off his other guards.

Aila watched in shock and horror, her heart thumping wildly at the scene before her. This was it; she knew it. But she didn’t want Damon to be killed in the process.

"We need to go! This is your only opportunity." Esme stepped around the lycan and urged Aila in the opposite direction of the blood and chaos, away from her mate and away from her master. "It’s hard for me to leave, amica mea, too. But you’re my responsibility, and you are responsible for the lycans."

Aila flicked her gaze back to the small she-wolf and then to the lycans. A few had fallen already. Seeing them dead on the ground after so much of their time stuck in cells broke her heart. It was the hunter’s fault, and then hers, for not getting them free quicker.

The source of this c𝐨ntent is freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.

"Follow us," Aila commanded, letting her voice expand to all the lycans surrounding them. She spun around, looking behind her once again, and met Damon’s gorgeous, silvery, steel eyes, he nodded, and she forced herself to look away.

"Please be careful. Leave if you must. I don’t care. Come back to me," Aila mind-linked him and began to run. It felt like she left her heart behind her, with Damon, Cassius, Harry and Davian, who fought each other and those of her pack, fighting not only to get her back but against a rising villain.