HUNTED

Cassius stepped closer to her and rested his chin on her shoulder, and whispered in her ear, "Are you sure?"

Gabriel's knuckles had gone white now from how hard he'd fisted his hand. The ruby-red specks in his eyes were glowing now, and his lips parted, revealing his fangs. Esme looked at him, and he shook his head, to which she whipped her head back to the scene unfolding before them, her eyes darkening. Damon didn't like the exchange, but before he could ask Gabriel, Esme put her hand over his mouth again, making him nervous at what he was about to see.

Cassius bit into his forearm, and Aila clenched her eyes shut, swallowing loudly before opening them again; her eyes shone, and her lips parted slightly. Cassius reached for her waist and pulled her back into him, putting his forearm just before her lips. Aila inhaled sharply and instantly grabbed onto his arm and wildly bit into it, her eyes shutting with a slight moan leaving her lips. 

"I don't know why you even try. You can't hide anything from me, Aila." Cassius said quietly as he stroked her hair back. 

Damon's chest was heaving now from the burning rage that was ready to blow. But he controlled himself enough not to harm Esme again, though he was losing feeling in his legs and back from the giant wolves lying on him. He honestly didn't know how to react to what he'd witnessed; he knew Aila would need blood, and she might struggle for a while like how Davian did. But the Alpha didn't expect his mate to be drinking from another vampire.

"That's enough!" A man's voice growled. Damon looked behind Cassius and Aila, but nobody was there. That was when he saw a black-haired man walking shirtless and only in a pair of jeans. He had hopped up onto the hedge maze, then jumped across the bushy walls until he hopped back down and marched towards the pair at the fountain. 

"It is enough when I say it is enough. Aila is thirsty," Cassius warned the newcomer but also appeared disinterested in him.

"She will get addicted," The man snapped and reached his hand out towards Aila. She opened her eyes and growled at the man, her lips still against Cassius' arm. 

Darius' hackles were going up from how she was reacting, and he tried to tackle Damon's defences to his mind again. It was frustrating and making him fatigued, from refraining to go down to his mate, fighting his wolf for control and not making any noises. His wolf was fine to whimper and whine in his mind, but Damon still had to control himself even as he watched that filthy vampire's arms wrapped around her like he owned her. 

"Aila.. I'm helping you. You don't need anymore.." The man said soothingly, his hand wrapped around one of her wrists, but he did not do anything more as he stared into her eyes. 

Aila started to tremble like she was struggling but managed to pull Cassius' arm away from her bloodied face. She stared wide-eyed and slowly looked back at the black-haired man. Cassius clicked his tongue in annoyance and glared at the man.

"That bastard." Finn mind-linked with a slight growl. Gabriel smacked his side to quieten him, even though it was a little hypocritical. 

"Fine," Cassius snapped. "Ruin our moment." He let go of Aila's waist and lowered his arm before abruptly turning. "As per Aila's request. I will get rid of our guests." He zipped back into the castle, a blur only showing the door had swung open and shut. 

Damon looked back at Aila and saw her leaning forwards and swaying, almost like she was drunk. "You should feed more so he doesn't do that to you," The man advised with a sigh as her forehead used his chest to keep her upright. 

Darius growled in Damon's mind, not liking the idea of this man being close to their mate. Cassius was no better; he just wanted to grab her and take her away from this wretched place.

"It is not what you think," Gabriel spoke softly in his mind. "That's Davian Cross."

"What?" Damon whipped his head to the side, looking at Gabriel, then returned to watching his mate and Davian Cross' back. "He's still alive.." He trailed off, staring at the man's broad back. He wasn't exactly what he expected of her ancestor; the black hair, for starters, was questionable. The Cross family were known for their white hair and striking blue eyes, similar to Gabriel and Cassius' looks. 

Even from where they were standing, Damon could see that he had a few piercings in his ears and on his right shoulder blade was a large tribal wolf tattoo. The wolf was howling inside of a full moon with small moons in different phases above and below it all connected together in a dotted diamond shape. At the top of the diamond was a star. 

His looks surprised Damon, considering the hybrid was from a different era. But that was the least of his concerns. What was Davian doing there? Damon presumed he despised Cassius as much as his mother from his journal entries. 

Aila pushed off him and sighed, wiping her hand across her mouth. "I have had plenty. There are countless bodies in there," She snarled and abruptly turned, staggering off and almost falling onto her side. But Davian caught her before she did.

"Why the fuck is Davian helping Cassius?" Damon asked Gabriel in his mind. 

"I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? You read minds!" Damon growled back.

"He has figured out a way to block his mind from being read-"

"How? How is that possible?!" Damon's claws started to grow again. He wasn't just angry; he was upset and tired. He wanted to take Aila home today, but it looked like it was going to be another day without her. 

Gabriel shrugged. "Cassius is his master. He must have figured it out somehow; it is also not as rare as you might believe. Some people are naturally on their guard." He glanced at Esme, then looked back at Damon, who was watching his mate walk back to the castle. "And we aren't going back completely empty-handed. This may take a few days if they are staying here permanently. Be patient; at least you can rest better tonight."

Rest better.. He didn't know if seeing his mate would give him more nightmares, not because he feared her but because he longed for her even more. He was saddened that Aila kept the bond blocked because it wouldn't stop her from feeling the mate bond tugging at her, telling her he was close by. Their eyes had met, their hearts beat as one; she knew he was there, but she chose to ignore it. 

"Aila did well," Darius complimented their mate, surprising Damon. "She acted like we weren't here, even though she doesn't seem to be in her right frame of mind."

Darius was referring to her comment about the other vampires burning in the sun.. They must have done something vile to upset her; he refused to believe that she wanted them dead because they annoyed her.