HUNTED-Chapter 316: Chaotic Battle

"Really?" Aila sighed. Then before the hunter could pull the trigger, Aila jumped up and tackled him to the ground, taking another bullet to her chest in the process as she pierced her fangs into his neck.

His muffled screams turned into moans as she drank from him. She felt her body already healing, pushing out the bullets from her body slowly. The feeling made her nauseous, but she kept drinking until she realised the hunter’s heartbeat had slowed down too much. She didn’t care if he lived or died, but the mind-link from her pack halted her from killing him.

"They’re recording."

"Is it live?"

"The news team is here."

"What do we do!?"

"Alpha? Luna?"

Aila pulled back to look up at the sky, where she finally noticed and heard the sounds of a helicopter. A large round beam of light moved across the bloodied battleground. From here, she could also see the news crew recording.

It really didn’t matter to her right now, though. She fell back, away from the hunter whose breaths were slow and looked in Damon’s direction. She began to crawl over, feeling her heart being ripped from her chest. He wasn’t moving.

Cassius was beside Damon, where Gabriel was assessing him. Esme was helping Harry restrain Davian, and the vampires that came with Gabriel had moved on to the hunters, whose screams filled the air at their brutality. Aila forced herself up, tears streaming from her eyes, running mascara streaks down her make-up. She took another step and then heard another gun clock behind her.

Aila spun around in time to see Darren, the ex-Delta, tackle the hunter aiming his gun at her, and he snapped his neck. Her mouth hung open for a moment, with the shock ricocheting in her body, but then she saw Finn’s wolf nearby taking down some other hunters. Ajax’s black panther chased others, his loud roar echoing.

She assessed the scene more, waiting for another hunter or someone else to try and attempt to kill her, but none did. Everyone was preoccupied. Her lycans were in the surrounding forest, besides Aldric and another who decided to stay and help. The hunters had taken them by surprise on their escape route, but not all of them were on Cassius’ side.

In fact, half of them were there only to help when needed. Chase was in charge of the mission. Boy, had she been surprised to see him.

With all the threats surrounding her preoccupied in battle, she sent out a mind-link to all of the pack leaders and the Silver Crescent pack. "This is your Queen speaking. You are fighting so bravely and for a much greater cause than just saving me from a lunatic. This will be put down in history, not just for supernatural creatures but for humans as well. We cannot do anything about the news now."

Aila lowered to her mate’s side, caressing his cheek as she felt his pain throbbing dully. Damon was passed out now, his hand bloodied from where he tried to take out Cassius’ heart. She knew without glancing at her master that he was alive, his heart intact, but she didn’t feel relieved; she didn’t feel anything but emptiness.

"If there are any who surrender, let them. Vampires come under Gabriel’s rule, so any punishment will be handed out by him," she continued through the mind-link.

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"To my lycans, you are free. When this blows over, I will search for ways to help you. I’m sure we will find something in the hunters’ labs," she announced separately to the lycans. "To those who have nowhere to go, you are welcome to the Silver Crescent pack. You are always welcome at Silver Crescent."

Aila stroked Damon’s hair away from his face, letting the last of her tears dry up. He was alive, and he was breathing. "Ajax, Finn, Darren, are you free?" She glanced from Damon to Gabriel, who had brought the warlock forwards and created those magical red bands around Cassius while he was unconscious.

"Ajax and I are free. Finn is talking to some hunter," Darren mind-linked back, surprising Aila again with how genuine and helpful he sounded. Her initial distrust of him almost made her change her mind about what she wanted from them, but then she was reminded of how he’d saved her life and was helpful in the hunter attack before.

"Come to us. Bring some others that look free. Take Damon back to the trees. Protect him with your lives," she ordered, looking back at her Damon’s chiselled face.

Aila stroked his cheek again and left a gentle kiss against his lips. "I’ll see you soon, baby," she whispered against his lips and pulled away reluctantly.

Before Aila would follow her heart, she turned away as soon as she saw Darren and Ajax running towards them. Both were in their human forms; Ajax ran in just some shorts, his muscles shifting as he ran. He smiled brightly at her, like a happy puppy, but then his eyes landed on Damon, and it dried up.

Aila turned her attention to Aldric and Harry, pinning Davian to the ground. She looked back at Damon being carried away, the fighting continuing around them. It worried her that Damon might be attacked.

She sprinted to Davian in a flash, instantly smacking his head and putting him unconscious. Harry looked at her in surprise, and Aldric pulled back like he expected nothing more. She looked at them both. "Please, can you protect my mate?" She mind-linked them.

"You don’t even need to ask," Harry saluted her, and Aldric bared his neck to her. The lycan went down onto all fours and rushed after Damon, and Harry shifted mid-jump and caught up to him.

Aila sighed, feeling better at seeing them guard Damon. Their large forms instantly made approaching vampires back away. She turned to Gabriel to speak to him, but the words died on her lips. He was embracing Esme and speaking softly, sweetly into her ear.

Aila tuned them out, wanting to give them a moment, though she found it bizarre, yet oddly not so that they chose that moment to cling to each other.

If Damon was conscious, Aila would do the same. The moment didn’t need to be sweet or surrounded by beauty, not when any minute, any second, it might be their last. These thoughts rushing through her mind made her want to run to her mate, but they still had unfinished business here. A battle continued between werewolves, vampires, lycans and hunters before them.

There really had been so many vampires and werewolves, but she could slowly see the werewolves winning with the remaining lycans and the hunters’ help. It was a strange scene to see the hunters helping the supernatural creatures.