HUNTED-Chapter 332: Mental State

After announcing their abdication to the throne of the southern territories, they discussed it in private after dinner more about the specifics. A formal announcement was going to be made for all Alphas of the packs.

Whilst sitting outside on the patio by the fire pit, watching some of the slightly younger pack members playing in their wolf forms, Damon took Magnus aside after finishing the discussion.

Aila’s attention flicked to them, moving too far out of range for her to listen to the conversation. She was curious because their father-son relationship always seemed a little strained, though she wondered if it was because Magnus had been so hard on Damon growing up. Now with the weight of their throne on Aila and Damon’s shoulders, Magnus seemed a little more carefree.

It was a compliment in itself that Magnus and Lillian believed they were capable of reigning over all the packs. From the look in the other Alpha’s eyes, he was proud of Damon, even if he had been strict and harsh with him.

"We have faith in you." Lillian brought Aila’s attention back to those conversing near the fire.

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Mandy and Andy had already made their farewells leaving Chiara, Ajax, Esme and Harry conversing across from them. It brought a small smile to her lips to see Chiara put aside her hatred of rogues for Esme and Harry. A fight was definitely something they needed, and Ajax also kept the dangerous Gamma calm, somehow with his annoying yet charming persona.

"Thank you," Aila replied though she still felt nervous about it all.

Lillian clinked her wine glass with Aila’s. "You’ll be fine. And you’re not the only one who will ever be nervous about taking on such a role. I was when I found out Magnus was my mate. I never expected to be a Luna, let alone an Alpha Queen."

Lillian’s words were comforting. Aila didn’t think about it like that. Like her, it had been unexpected for Lillian to take on such a daunting role. Now it was expected of Aila. Even though she was nervous, she wanted to do what was right for their people.

Aila just needed to think of it like this: Taking on the south was just another load of packs joining the north. It wasn’t that much different to what they do now.

With those thoughts, Lillian’s comforting presence and the red wine, Aila felt a little more at ease about it. She did wonder what the pair would do with themselves, especially after ruling for so long but from the look in their eyes, pride reflected back at them.

The rest of the night, they conversed more comfortably, though Magnus did ask the pair what their plans were about the issue with the humans, to which they answered how they had with others, it still needed to be discussed with other members like Gabriel and Chase. Gabriel was the Vampire King, and Chase was the highest in the ranks of the hunters now.

Magnus appeared happy by this response and left it at that.

Aila did wonder if that was a little test, but why test them now when he’d made the decision to abdicate the throne? Still, if he had any advice to give, she would not turn it down. They had ruled for much longer than Damon and most certainly her.

Damon’s parents stayed the night, but because of their long journey and everything they needed to organise before making it official, Magnus and Lillian left in the early morning. Again, Damon and Magnus spoke separately before the northern Alpha King climbed into the back seat, but Aila did not think much about it. They also had another visitor that day, and she was already thinking about him.

As soon as they left, Aila and Damon set off to do some training with their pack members, who were in far better shape without the alcohol in their system before a certain hunter arrived. After a good workout of fighting with Chiara and Esme, Aila had a shower and returned to her usual black hoody and leggings just in time for the guards to send a mind-link to her and Damon about Chase’s arrival.

Although Aila only saw the hunter the week before, she was still excited to see him. Last time they were bloodied and had a quick reunion, but this time she could really see how he was as well as discussing important matters. Aila rushed through the doors and flung her arms around Chase’s neck. He laughed as he steadied her.

"Hey, Aila."

A low growl from behind them made Aila grin as she saw Damon’s possessive form cross his arms and glare at the pair. "Chase, I missed you." She ruffled his golden locks before stepping away.

Chase rolled his eyes and started playing with his hair before reaching out to shake Damon’s hand. Damon looked at his hand for a moment before reluctantly shaking his hand. "Alright, let’s chill a little on the formalities, guys." She wanted Damon and Chase to relax a little more, but she knew that probably wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

They found themselves in Damon’s office, away from everyone. Damon sat against the window ledge, and Aila sat in his leather chair, facing Chase. The hunter looked around at first, intrigued by the manly, dark wooden interior.

"First, I wanted to give you these." Chase pulled a stack of papers out of his backpack and placed them on the desk.

Aila eyed it speculatively, but she knew they must have been important. "You don’t need to hit up any more hunters’ compounds. What you have here is all the documentation about the experiments using your blood to create those hybrids, or lycans as you call them." He leaned back as Aila leaned forward to assess some of the papers.

"We released the remaining prisoners. Many of them seem to have gone home in their original human form, but they do now shift into the form of a lycan. Or so some of my agents have reported to me. There are cases in which you will see through that pile there… some of the lycans can’t return to their original forms.

"These also fled, and we couldn’t keep track of them all. It seems that half of the werewolves that were experimented on were type 1 rogues. So they never had the mental capacity to return to their former selves, they are a danger to society, especially after being experimented on, but they have fled into the wilderness like beasts and have stayed clear of civilisation."

Aila rubbed the side of her temples, frowning at this news. "What about the other half of the experiments? Some of them, like Aldric, have yet to shift back. He told me it was too painful." Aila watched Chase’s face instead of looking through the piles of research papers and notes about the lycans created from her blood.

She knew Chase only brought the documentation to prove to her and Damon that he had access to everything now. Chase was the man in charge. It still felt strange, considering he was young but was in charge of a whole organisation like that. But hey, she wasn’t one to talk.

Chase nodded, acknowledging that Aila still trusted him enough to ask what he found instead of looking through the papers. Besides, there was still a lot to deal with, and if this could be resolved quickly, then that was another thing ticked off her list. Aila owed it to Aldric and others whose lives had been flipped upside down.

With a long sigh, Chase held Aila’s gaze with a stern stare, his brows drawing together. "To be honest, Aila. It all dials down to the individual’s mental state."

"What do you mean?" Damon asked, shifting his body, so he leaned against the back of Aila’s chair, watching Chase closely.

"It’s hard to say, but if they despise themselves or find disgust in what they have become, it has an effect on their ability to shift. I think if they accepted what they were, if their wolves accepted the change, they would be able to return to their human forms," Chase replied, his gaze flicking between the Alpha and Luna pair.

"That’s it?" Aila asked, surprised by its simplicity. "It’s just their mental state?"

Chase nodded. "I know it sounds too simple. But in the documentation, they started.." a small chuckle left his lips. "They started some counselling. They brought specialists in, handed over some of their details, and the counsellor would talk to them. It had a seventy per cent success."

"Only seventy per cent?" Damon leaned forwards, grabbing some of the papers to look through. "That seems awfully low."

Damon didn’t find any humour in it. Counselling may have seemed far-fetched, but it still had some results. Aila looked up at her mate, her eyes softening at seeing the interest and concern on his features. Those beasts were once controlled by the hunters and had caused some deaths, but he also wanted to help them. Warmth spread through her chest, and a smile tugged at her lips.

She forced herself to look away to keep a neutral expression on her face, but Chase had been watching her and rolled his eyes when she met his gaze. That made her eyes crinkle even more from his jest.

Chase cleared his throat, responding to Aila’s mate. "It is, but.. it’s better than nothing. They might not have been able to get through to the others. All we know now is that those who were successful could shift on their own accord after."

"I could try speaking to them. They can respond to me, unlike with the hunters," Aila suggested, though she felt a lot more pressure weighing her down again. That was a lot of lycans to speak to. But she couldn’t turn away from them.

Their lives had been ripped away from them, and now they were these lycans. Another species had been created. It must be so scary for them. She owed it to them to help their lives go back on track.

Damon’s hand rested on her shoulder, squeezing gently, understanding Aila’s sense of justice for the lycans. With that squeeze, she felt his comfort and support. She would do this for Aldric and the others trying to return to their human forms.