HUNTED

Damon knew he was to blame for the part in her abduction. First of all, he hadn't stayed by his Queen's side throughout her coronation night which brought the hunters to attack her. He then selfishly asked Cassius to save her by any means necessary, and that was by giving her the damned vampire's blood. She'd awakened her vampire side now because of him, and she was suffering because of him-

"If you continue wallowing in self-pity, I might just put an end to you myself," Gabriel said quietly, glaring at him before returning his attention to the castle. He continued to speak as he put his hands in his pockets; it was frustratingly similar to Cassius. "Stop blaming yourself. Both of you." 

Damon glanced at Finn, who whipped his head to the side to look at the vampire. It seemed his thoughts weren't the only ones being read. 

"You never expected this to happen. The hunters.. No.. Clint and his goons turned up for Aila, and Cassius took advantage of that. Neither of you failed her, and from what I could see from your memories, Damon.." The vampire turned to look at him now, placing his hand on his shoulder. "Aila's path was already set. I don't know too much about how your Moon Goddess works, but I know how fate works. Whether it was at her coronation or another time, Aila was going to awaken that dormant vampiric side of her. And Finn.. you almost died yourself, give yourself a break, mate."

Damon sighed, nodding along though Gabriel's words were somewhat comforting him. He knew the vampire was right, but it wouldn't stop him from feeling guilty and from missing Aila desperately. 

"I miss her," He admitted aloud. It was a ridiculous statement now; everyone there knew he missed her, but saying those words out loud made his chest burn in motivation. It may have taken him a month to find her, but he knew where she was now and could observe from afar until a plan was set in place. He was in a good position right now.

"That's better. Your thoughts were so irritating," Gabriel muttered and removed his hand from his shoulder. 

"Maybe if you stopped being a nosy bugger, then you wouldn't find them so annoying," Damon snapped, then smirked after hearing Gabriel chuckle. Their slight bickering lightened the mood around them, removing the last bit of tension between the Vampire King and Alpha King. 

After some time waiting for Esme, Damon mind-linked the pack members still waiting in the woods. They confirmed there hadn't been any movement, and the two warriors who guarded the cars also confirmed there had been no sightings of vehicles. The Alpha nodded, pleased by this information, as he crossed his arms against his chest. He was grateful to his Beta for putting up with his mood swings and telling him to be patient and wait until the daytime. 

The sun certainly was something to be happy about; if they went during the night when the vampires were partying, they could have been in a worse position right now, and possibly with a lot of his pack members injured or dead.

Damon whipped his head to the side, the sudden rustling noise bringing him out of his thoughts. His body tensed, bracing for an attack, and he grew his claws, ready. But Gabriel strolled over to where the noise was coming from and out popped Esme from another bush. Her dark brown hair had a few leaves and twigs that Gabriel started to remove.

Damon, Kane and Finn all relaxed with an audible sigh, inciting the she-wolf's giggle. "Sorry to disappoint guys," She smirked and strolled over to them. "After all the bloodshed and killing those pesky young vampires, as Cassius put it.. Other than Aila, Cassius and Davian, there only seemed to be two others, and then I counted about eight guards in the castle. None outside, but I presume during the nighttime, that might not be the case.. Also.." the she-wolf looked at Damon. "Aila is staying in the west wing."

Gabriel shook his head, chuckling darkly. "Well, my brother isn't completely absurd. That's at least something," He muttered, then sighed when he realised everyone was looking at him to explain further. "This castle was Cassius' and Amelia's favourite. She used to stay in the east wing."

Damon paused as he suddenly felt sick. "Where is Cassius staying?" He asked quietly, keeping his composure as he looked down at Esme. 

The she-wolf looked at him for a moment, making him more infuriated. He stepped closer to her, almost threateningly so, but she rolled her eyes and held her hands up again when he growled. "I couldn't tell. I think he is staying in the north wing-"

"How could you not tell?" Kane asked as he stepped in front of the Alpha. Damon knew he was doing it to protect the she-wolf more than to threaten her. From the looks of it, Esme wasn't concerned about their threatening behaviour. 

"Why would she be when she has Gabriel?" Darius commented mockingly.

Esme placed her hands on her hips. "Don't look at me like that. I'm an excellent tracker, thank you very much. What I mean to say is his scent is all over the castle. He has obviously been living there for a very long time. Aila's scent was in the west wing, but his scent was there as well-"

Damon growled and flicked his eyes at the castle, glaring in its direction as his wolf visualised ripping Cassius' head from his shoulders. It was very comforting to him.

"Woah, look, his scent is the strongest at the northern wing. So, if he is a gentleman-"

"He's not." Gabriel and Damon snapped at the same time. 

"Okay, okay.." Esme placed her hand on Gabriel's chest, almost like she was calming him. But Damon couldn't tell what he was feeling; the vampire was as stoic as ever. "Look, I'm just telling you what I saw."

"How did you get around without being seen?" Finn asked, looking at her curiously.

"Rogue." Esme shrugged. "I got good at hiding." 

It was a blatant lie because everyone saw what happened, but they didn't push her further on it. They didn't know the she-wolf well, but she was a valuable asset, and if she was willing to work with them to help bring his mate home, then he'd welcome her into the pack. "As agreed earlier, I'll accept you in the pack. You know the process, right?"

Esme nodded. "I, Esme Snow, vow to do what is within my power to protect Alpha Damon Steel, Luna Aila Cross and the pack members of the Silver Crescent pack." She made the sign of the crescent moon, tapping her head and chest before lowering her hand away.

"I, Alpha Damon Steel, accept and welcome you into the Silver Crescent pack," Damon repeated the same gesture before growing, cutting his wrist with his claw and letting two drops of his blood fall into Esme's mouth. As soon as she closed her mouth, Damon felt her essence connect in the pack like a rubber band pinging in place. 

"Welcome to Silver Crescent," Damon mind-linked her, and she smiled nervously. He stared down at her with high expectations now after witnessing this unique skillset of hers. He knew he was doing the right thing, and with Esme now able to mind-link pack members, she could help map out the castle's layout and guard rotations while she was there. The possibilities were endless, and it didn't put his pack members in danger. 

With Esme and Gabriel, along with other skilful werewolves and shapeshifters, Damon knew it wouldn't be long until Aila was back in his arms, and they knew of Cassius' plans.