HUNTED

For the rest of the evening, Aila's frustration grew, and she became restless, to the point where she would stare out her window at the darkened surroundings and long for running outside again. However, she didn't know what was happening with the new wolves on their territory as Alpha Damon sent a pack mind-link to each member, informing them to stay inside. 

A long sigh left her lips as she looked outside once again, this time watching the guards change shifts. Aila began to feel a little imprisoned, almost as if she had switched one prison for a more luxurious one without the brutality. Her eyes then caught her own reflection in the window; her face soured after seeing her eyes begin to glow from the simmering anger she felt beneath. 

Turning away, she walked towards the wardrobe to see if there were any clothes she could use to sleep in. As soon as the doors opened, she saw a few pieces hanging up, all in her size.

"Now that seems a little too familiar," Malia smirked, reminding her of the room she stayed in for a day at the hunter's base camp. Aila grumbled to herself while she went for a shower. 

Once she was out, her hair hung wet and loose over the silky pyjamas she wore. A knock at the door gained her attention, stopping her from drying her hair with a towel. She tensed for a moment, believing it could be Alpha Damon, then she shook her head in denial. He would just walk in if he wanted to see her. Opening the door, she was surprised to see her mum at the door. Aila gestured for her to come in before closing the door behind her.

"I heard your wolf has returned, and you shifted," Her mum turned abruptly to look at her, concern laced in her voice and on her face. 

"Yep, I went for a run earlier," Aila smiled gently, hoping to smooth away any distress her mum was feeling. Though she did not know why her mum was concerned, she knew from her two days of wolfsbane injections that the next phase would be for her to shift. Her mum sat down on the sofa, gesturing for Aila to join. Once she took a seat, her mum stopped looking at the room and put her full attention on her daughter.

"Aila, dear. We are going home tomorrow," She spoke gravelly to her. 

However, Aila did not comprehend the full extent of what her mum meant; creasing her brows, she asked, "Can we not stay a bit longer? There is so much I need to know before I return-" 

"Aila," Her mum interrupted, taking her hands in her own, rubbing her thumbs soothingly over her hands, "you cannot come with us. You need to stay here. It is not safe anymore for you to be in Oakton." 

Aila's eyes widened, "But how can it be safe for you? Shouldn't you stay here also?"

"We are perfectly fine there. The pack still runs there, and Alpha Damon has guaranteed more warriors on patrol. The hunters do not know who we are, so they will not attack us." Her mum held her hand up, stopping Aila from interrupting her, "Your place is here. You are a Cross, and once you find your way.. you will be ruling like a true queen."

Queen!?

Aila gulped as her eyes widened. Malia rolled her own eyes at her; she was pumped and ready to take on the role. 

"Oh honey, don't look like that. It's in your blood. You will find your own way of ruling, and once you meet your mate, they will be strong enough to rule by your side," Her mum squeezed her hands reassuringly. 

Aila nodded her head glumly, deep in thought about being queen and ruling not just one pack but many. Was it as simple as it being in her blood? Sure, she was captain of the ice hockey team at University, but that was a team of six players at a time, not hundreds or thousands. 

The remainder of what her mum said just registered with her, "What's it like?"

Her mum looked at her confused, so Aila reiterated, "What's it like meeting your mate? I take it that you are dad's mate. He is still a werewolf.." 

Her mum smiled before staring off to the side, her eyes softening at the fond memory, "Yes, your dad is my mate. He was the first werewolf I had ever met. I knew of them, of course. Your grandma had many grimoires and books about them." 

She chuckled to herself, causing Aila to smile at the thought of her grandma and her quirky ways. 

"I was in the shopping centre with my friends. They went into another shop while I went to grab a coffee, I wasn't watching where I was going, and we bumped into each other. Almost as if it was fate. As soon as our eyes met, everybody else seemed to disappear. He took my breath away. Everything seemed to snap into place, and I knew then that this man was who I was meant to marry," Aila's eyes lit up. She had never heard the story of how they met before. 

"That sounds like something out of a romance novel.." Aila trailed off with Malia nodding in agreement.

Her mum chuckled, "Well, it wasn't fate at all! I found out later on that he sniffed me out the moment he entered the centre. He didn't wait for a second and purposely bumped into me." 

Both Aila and her mum burst out laughing, "That's so typical of him! He's so impatient."

"He said once he smelled my scent, there was no going back. He just HAD to meet me. That was all he thought about," Her mum smiled again before looking at Aila, "Are you worried about meeting your mate?"

Aila sighed, "I nearly met him, but Kane got in the way and then Alpha Damon.." Her cheeks burned, and she looked away from her mum, hoping she would not see. Malia snickered at her embarrassment. 

"So, you already saw Alpha Damon?" Her mum's eyes were wide with excitement before they became concerned, her eyebrows creasing together, "That can't be right. I thought he would be.." She muttered to herself before sealing her lips.

"I didn't really see him. I just.. felt him. I mean, I felt his presence there. It was too dark to see him," Aila stuttered; she looked down at her nails, playing with them as though they were more interesting than the fluttering butterflies in her stomach at mentioning her rendezvous with the Alpha. 

Malia was now roaring with laughter, the noise almost too much for Aila to listen to. She rolled her eyes at her and shushed her as her mum began to speak again, "Oh! So, you never made eye contact?"

"Nope, your daughter was far too interested with what his hands were doing than to see his beautiful eyes," Malia snickered, causing Aila to bite her lip, holding back a small giggle from her wolf's lewdness. 

Although, Aila was now more focused on her mum, whose eyes shone in excitement from the discussion. Aila narrowed her eyes at her, "No, we never made eye contact," each word was said slowly, suspicion creeping into her voice, "why, dearest mother?"

"No reason! Oh, look at the time! I need to finish packing," Her mum jumped up from the couch, excusing herself. Aila wanted to ask more after her mum acted so strangely, but she resisted the urge. She always knew more than she let on, and now Aila knew her mum was a witch. She did not want to pressure her if it was not needed. 

Her mum walked towards the door and suddenly stopped; turning around, she brought Aila in for a hug. Pulling back, her eyes searched Aila's features, "You are so much stronger than I ever anticipated. Such a strong and brave girl.."

"Mum.." Aila groaned playfully, "I will see you in the morning before you leave."

"Yes! Don't be late! We have lives too, you know. We need to get back to the shop and reopen it," Her mum spun back around and closed the door behind her. 

Her parents owned a cute little bookstore named "The Occult", where she would happily sit reading for hours. There was also a small coffee shop inside of it, which attracted many customers along with the quirkiness of the shop. Her mum loved 'playing' a witch to new customers or customers who did not know what book they were looking for. It wasn't until now that she realised the funny side of it. She presumed beforehand that it was to add to the shop's many appeals. 

As part of a 'ritual', her mum would ask the customer to grab three gemstones that stood out to them. Once they showed her the stones, she would find five books that may interest them. Nine times out of ten, the customer would pay for all five. Aila never thought much about it because her mum always said that each stone represented something that indicated what they were looking for. Either way, it was a little spooky.

Aila made her way back to the bed and climbed under the covers. All she needed was a distraction, to talk to someone, and her frustrations had melted away. However, her thoughts Alpha Damon nearly bubbled up again, and she became restless once again, almost to the point that she debated getting out of bed in search of him. She could still smell his scent, and she knew it wasn't from any of her clothes; sighing, she turned over onto her side.

"Well, tonight's gonna be a delight," Malia commented sarcastically. She too, was beginning to feel vexed.

The following day, Aila pulled herself out from the twisted sheets wrapped around her legs. Her hair was tangled with her arm that hugged one of the pillows. She groaned before yawning and stretching out. Her night consisted of her twisting and turning, thoughts flickering between Alpha Damon, meeting the leaders to her mum leaving, and back once again to Alpha Damon. 

Although she could not sleep properly, the natural light shining through the windows woke her up easily. Aila began to think it was the best way for her to get up; she really did not miss having an alarm. Jumping out of bed, she immediately got changed into some black jeans and a top, although Malia complained about her choice. It meant she wouldn't be shifting for a while.

"I can't live in sportswear all the time," Aila tsked back to her wolf as she left her room and made her way down to the kitchen, where she presumed her parents were having a coffee. Walking through the hallway that led to the living room, she checked the clock on the side, reading it to be 7am. As she predicted, her parents sat down on the stools at the island with cups, two suitcases by their sides.

To her surprise, Gamma Chiara was standing across from them, her own cup in her hands. She gave Aila a nod before her eyes clouded over, indicating she was mind-linking with someone. Aila looked at her parents with raised brows.

"Gamma Chiara has been kind enough to escort us back to Oakton," Her dad exclaimed before taking another sip from his cup.

"That's nice.." Aila looked back at the woman warily in front of her while she took a seat beside her parents. 

"It gives me a chance to scout the surrounding area. The hunters have not yet made an appearance, but there are still rogues dipping past us. Once I know the perimeter is secure, I will return back, and we can start your training," Gamma Chiara said before scrutinising Aila's body.

"Training?" Aila blinked back in shock while crossing her arms against her chest, feeling uncomfortable under the Gamma's gaze. She should have known that training would be next on the agenda. Aila now had her wolf and was meant to rule. How could she lead others if she couldn't even look after herself? 

"Yes," Gamma Chiara picked up some keys and walked off, not adding more to the conversation, "I will meet you outside in ten?" Her question was directed at her parents. They nodded their heads in return for Gamma Chiara to continue walking away. 

After a comfortable silence of her parents sipping the last of their coffee, they stood up and began to walk back through the living room. Her dad carried both suitcases while Aila linked her arm with her mum's. Unlike herself and the other she-wolves she had seen, her mum was more of an average height with a petite build; she leaned her head onto Aila's shoulder as they continued through the double doors that led outside the front of the mansion.

Her parents each gave her a hug, her dad holding onto her tightly, squeezing to the point where she could not breathe. Releasing her, he gave her an apologetic smile, "This decision was not made lightly. I hope you know that Aila. My job as your father is to always protect you even if you have a whole army at your disposal. But you need to learn what it is like to be a werewolf, to be a Cross and unfortunately, although we were best friends with your parents, we left the pack years before the attack. Our knowledge is limited." 

"We cannot help you with this part of your journey, but you will be just fine," Her mum added with tear-filled eyes as she grabbed Aila's hand and squeezed lightly.

Just then, four black SUVs turned up one after the other. Gamma Chiara walked around the second car and leaned against it casually while she waited for their goodbyes.

"We will miss you a lot! Try and phone us as much as you can. The pack mind link takes a great deal of effort to get in touch with me at that distance. We need to know you are safe!" Her dad exclaimed as worry lines formed on his forehead. With another quick hug, he picked the bags up and began putting them away in the car before opening the door for her mum and climbing into the car.

Aila waved her parents goodbye; her chest tightened at the sight of the cars leaving as they became smaller, the further they drove down the long path that led them to the gate and then out of sight. She stood there for a few more minutes, unsure of what she was meant to do next. 

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