HUNTED

Aila froze on the spot. A voice had spoken to her in her mind. All of a sudden, everything seemed to click into place; she couldn't explain it. Aila stared wide-eyed across the room. She had her wolf, Malia.

Was that what Damon meant when he said she would know?

"Aila, chill, we have been together since we were six."

"I'm sorry you were locked away," Aila whispered aloud to Malia.

She laughed sardonically, "Well, I am back now. It feels good. Ya' know, you don't need to talk out loud to me. I can hear your thoughts, emotions, everything. We are one and the same."

Aila nodded her head. Until now, she didn't realise there was a missing part of her, but now Malia was here, she felt almost complete. It felt right. Leaning back against the bed's headboard, it was then, like a flick of a switch, that a rushing sensation flowed through her body, almost making her feel a little lightheaded. Once her body calmed down, she flickered her eyes across the room in awe as her mind was overloaded with heightened senses.

Not only was her 20/20 vision enhanced so much that she could see the smallest of dust particles near the windows, but she could hear the grunts and smacking sounds of the men outside training. It was almost like a whisper echoing through her ears; before, she could not hear anything from this room because they trained opposite her parent's bedroom.

"I know it's cool, right? I have no idea how you went along with your mundane life before this. Because being a wolf is fricken epic!" Malia chimed in arrogantly, making Aila giggle with delight.

Smiling to herself at her better senses, she decided to have a shower. Although she still felt bruised and beaten up, her feverish state came to a stop, and a shower was just what she needed to wash away the grit of her two wolfsbane filled days.

In the shower, her muscles relaxed more under the heat of the water. Once she was out, she checked herself out in the mirror, the bruises on her face were gone, and when she checked her ribs, there was only a tiny, green bruise left; the sharp pain was gone.

"Malia.." She was amazed by her little transformation, "I thought the wolfsbane would slow the healing process down,"

"It does, but you still heal quicker than a human. I can't believe we had to take wolfsbane to set me free." Malia moaned, expressing her displeasure at their situation.

"I know. My head is killing me." Aila rubbed at her temples before getting changed back into her pyjamas, the only clothes she had, "Remind me to go shopping when we feel better. I feel so lazy wearing pyjamas.' Malia chuckled before agreeing with her.

As soon as she left the bathroom, Malia became alert, causing Aila to tense her body in anticipation. She stopped and inhaled deeply to the woodsy scent mixed with cologne, Alpha Damon's heavenly scent. However, another aroma mixed in with it pleasantly, she couldn't get a grasp on it, but it was ever so alluring.

"What is that?" Malia asked, almost drooling at the smell. She was pacing impatiently as though she was ready to claw herself out of Aila's skin and into the open.

"Hmmm, I don't know, but it's delicious," Aila replied, taking another sniff of the aroma in the air. Her heart began pounding loudly against her chest, her hands becoming sweaty in anticipation.

In anticipation of what? What was wrong with her? Why did she feel so excited by a smell? By Alpha Damon?

The smell was becoming too much for her now heightened senses. She decided to get some fresh air, and where better to go than her parent's balcony, the spot where she could put her new claimed senses to the test. With that thought in mind, she began walking around the bed and yanked on the doorknob, swinging the door open with a bang. Aila jumped at her own power.

Oops.

She smiled at her new strength.

"Hey, you seriously going out like that. Put a jacket on at least," Malia scolded her with amusement behind her voice.

Aila scoffed, "Sorry, MUM."

"I'm just looking out for ya."

Aila rolled her eyes at Malia's response before grabbing a hoody from Alpha Damon's wardrobe. The moment she pulled it out, her face automatically leaned into the clothing, inhaling his scent. For the next few minutes, she completely lost herself in his scent, rubbing her head into the clothing.

Okay, that's weird. What are you doing, Aila!?

She abruptly pulled her head back as her cheeks inflamed with embarrassment.

"Well, I was enjoying that, thank you very much." Aila ignored her wolf's commentary and put the hoody on that was three times too big for her, drowning her from its bagginess.

She sneaked another sniff of the material, which made Malia go wild in her mind; she decided then not to do it again, the scent seemed to affect both of them, and neither of them knew why. Walking out of the room, she made her way to the balcony.

As soon as she opened her parent's room, she felt Malia go deadly quiet; Aila thought for a moment she somehow left her mind, and it was just her again. But she focused her thoughts on Malia, and there, in the darkest corners of her mind, she heard her wolf making a low whining sound. She was sad about being in the room. The distant memories of her parents brought a saddened smile to Aila's lips.

Aila realised then that she felt as though she had known Malia her whole life, even though she was locked away from her, unable to talk and shift. Malia was always there; she had always been with her, watching her life from the back of her mind. Aila was sad for all the lost years without her, but now she was ecstatic to have her company and the comfort she brought with her. If she didn't know she was a werewolf, though, and a voice started speaking to her, Aila swore she would have to see a therapist.

Malia scoffed at the last part of Aila's thoughts. Walking forwards, she opened the door to the balcony and went to lean against the rough surface. The fresh air brought her spirits up as well as clearing her groggy mind from the wolfsbane. Though her body still felt weak, it was a lot better than it was the night before.

Her eyes immediately sought out Alpha Damon and were left disappointed when she could not find him. Even so, she did not come to the balcony to ogle at hot guys.

"Really? I am quite happy with ogling them. The wolves, the half-naked men, hmmm," Malia interrupted her thought process. Aila snickered at her wolf's commentary.

"Alright, close your mouth. You're drooling. I just wanted some fresh air and to test my eyesight out," Aila feigned innocently.

"Please do, test away! Maybe just focus on that guy there."

Aila's attention went to the shirtless man with dirty blonde hair tied back into a low bun. The power and authority emanating from him were clear. He seemed to be in charge, but he didn't quite have the same power that radiated off of Alpha Damon.

"Ah, he's the beta of the pack," Malia chipped in. That made sense, considering she could not see Alpha Damon, the blonde-haired man, was left in charge.

It was then, Alia noticed how big the pack members were. Most of the men were at least 6ft and shredded. There were also far fewer women on the field training. There were only seven from what she could see, and each one of them must have been at least 5ft10 to 6ft. Making her feel small in comparison, and she was above average for a woman's height.

"There are a few female wolves at the back. But still, there aren't many." Malia added to Aila's observation.

How strange.

She knew there must have been more she-wolves; a pack as large as this didn't come from the ten or so females she could see on the field. Aila tensed. All of a sudden, her vision blurred slightly as her gaze took on a faraway look, "Aila, how are you feeling?"

Aila jumped with a small yelp. She looked behind her to see nobody there.

"What was that?" She asked Malia. She began to think that maybe there was another wolf in her head that Malia forgot to mention. Or she was genuinely losing it. She had been through a lot after all. It wouldn't be too far-fetched.

"Someone has mind-linked us," Came Malia's reply, putting Aila's rising anxiety to a halt.

"What's that?"

"It means anyone in the pack can talk to you. It's like those radio things the hunters had. They can only hear you once you focus on them to respond back." Malia informed her about the mind-link power in the pack.

"Aila?" The male voice was louder now, so she focused on responding.

"Who is this?" Aila heard herself echo along a non-existent line; it was strange. But everything that had happened so far made this little exchange seem small in comparison.

"I'm Kane, the beta of the pack." Aila turned her head in the direction of the man with his hair in a bun, "You look better," She stared at him, shaking off the surprise from her face.

Aila rolled her eyes internally at herself. If she could see him clearly, then, of course, he could see her.

"Duh," Malia mocked her.

Aila leaned forwards again, "Where is Damon?" She stared intently at the man named Kane.

He crossed his arms, a stern expression replacing his kind one a moment ago, "ALPHA Damon. And I cannot tell you."

"Why?"

From what Aila could tell, Kane narrowed his eyes at her, annoyed by her question, "Because he has ordered me not to tell anyone in the pack. Including you."

Aila rolled her eyes, causing the beta to raise a single brow at her. The Alpha and Beta were clearly used to the werewolves in the pack, obeying them without any questions asked.

"You know, you can just overthrow his orders. You are from THEE royal bloodline. Making you, their Luna." Malia piped up with a hint of mischief in her voice.

"Now, now. Let's play nice. We just met the poor guy." Aila smirked. She didn't want to get onto the topic of being a Luna. She was unsure of how she felt about it.

"How long will he be?" Aila mind-linked Kane. She could almost see him sigh before he replied in an exasperated tone, "I can't say."

A swell of disappointment filled her, but she kept her face neutral as she still felt Kane's eyes on her.

"Fair enough," She replied nonchalantly and turned on her heel, going back the way she came.

Aila knew precisely where she was going next, the kitchen. Her appetite returned at full force, shocking her with the strong need to eat. She was always a big eater, so going through the rice diet the hunters gave her was hard to go through, especially when she became irritable, or 'hangry' as Ajax put it- angry because she is hungry, 'hangry'.

"It's a wolf thing," Malia yawned before continuing, "we have a high metabolism. You can thank me later. I am the reason you have not put an ounce of fat on that 'hot bod' of yours."

Aila couldn't help the smile that came to her face; Malia felt like the sister she never had. Once she made it down the stairs and to the kitchen, she smirked, amused at seeing Ajax and Finn already inhaling the morning's breakfast which looked to be a Full English fry up. Aila's stomach growled, giving her position away to them.

"Hey!" They both exclaimed at the same time, their faces lit up before their eyes began assessing her.

"Hey yourselves," She started piling up food on her plate to the point that it was the same amount as what the guys had. They eyed her again as she sat down next to them.

"Aila?" Finn's voice floated across her mind. She looked across at him and tilted her head in a playful smile. A broad smile crept up his face while Ajax glanced between the two, a puzzled expression on his face.

"You got your wolf!" Finn exclaimed aloud, the joy evident in his voice as he got up and came forwards for a hug. Aila returned his hug and felt another pair of arms go around her from behind.

"You look a lot better, sweet pea," Ajax whispered next to her ear.

"Are you sticking with sweet pea?" She laughed as she pulled away from Finn.

Ajax rounded her and sat back down next to her, his eyes still set on her face, "Meh, give or take. Seriously though, you look a lot better. How do you feel?"

"Hungry and restless." She replied before taking a bite from the toast she buttered. When she looked back at him, she saw the excitement behind his eyes.

"Then we should go for a run," A smile played on his lips.

"I think she needs to rest, AJ. She's just had wolfsbane in her system non-stop for two days. We can go tomorrow," Finn looked over at her, concerned.

"Oh, he's such a sweetheart. But I am so ready to go for a run. Pleeeeease, can we go?" Malia moaned.

Instead of replying to Malia, she spoke aloud for everyone to hear, "Hmm, let me eat, then see how I feel."

"Aila, your first shift will be really painful. You are still weak from the wolfsbane.." Finn trailed off as his eyes flickered across her face, the worry lines on his forehead starting to show.

"I don't remember it, as our memory has been wiped. But we should have shifted when we turned six," Malia informed her.

"Well, apparently, I shifted when I was six, so it should be okay. Also, I've been in a cell for more than a week. Then in that room for two days. I need to get out," Aila spoke in a tiresome voice.

"Try being in that cell for five years," Ajax muttered under his breath before taking a sip from his coffee.

"But you are weak right now." Finn continued looking at her as though she were a china doll.

"I'll be fine," She met his eyes, her words a finality before finishing her breakfast.

Malia was restless throughout the whole conversation and even through the meal. She was pumped and ready more than anything to get out and taste the freedom she desperately needed. Aila got up from the kitchen stool and looked over at the pair; her eyes gleamed with excitement. Ajax grinned, his own enthusiasm radiating off of him while Finn pursed his lips in worry.

"Come on, she'll be fine! She's a little warrior!" Ajax remarked as he put his arm over Finn.

"Let's go," Her smile broadened before she briskly walked into the living room and out the patio doors that led to a vast garden. One that had a courtyard with a magnificent fountain on display, and further back were trees in front of a majestic mountain range.

As soon as her eyes landed on the trees, she inhaled deeply and suddenly felt her body spasm. Falling to the ground, she caught herself, landing on her hands and knees. Malia couldn't hold back anymore as a guttural growl erupted from her chest; she felt her eyes pulse and glow a brilliant blue. A rippling sensation went through her as her muscles constricted under an unseen force from within.

Her heart pounded to a beat of a drum she could not keep up with while her back made an abrupt cracking sound as the bones in her body began to break, yet the feeling wasn't as bad as she thought. There was only a numbing, burning sensation. All at once, her skin pulled and tore from her back as white fur grew out from inside her. She watched as a white snout lengthened before her. Her lips pulled back, baring her sharp teeth as she jumped forwards, the clothes she wore ripped to shreds and fell to the ground.

Aila shook her head, stumbling around on the four legs she now stood on. Her eyes bulged as she looked down at her huge, white furry paws. Before her thoughts could process the rest, Malia emerged as though from behind a screen in her mind. Aila submitted to her wolf and allowed her to take over her body.

"Mind if I take the reins for a moment," Malia asked, but they both knew she was not asking.

The striking white wolf raced towards the trees. Nothing in that moment mattered, only her, her paws drumming on the ground, the wind soaring through her fur as she burned through the pent-up energy from within.

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