HUNTED

Aila turned her head back to Silas; her concerned looked turned to one of a sour grape in her mouth. But she quickly composed herself, letting a hard mask fall in place. Silas raised his hand up and beckoned her forward as though she would place her hand in his. Aila scoffed and walked halfway, asking Chiara, Kane and Finn to come forwards for the remaining children.

"Let them go now," She said sternly. "And I will come the rest of the way."

"How about we do this at the same time? That seems fair, doesn't it?" Silas smirked after watching her burning gaze try and melt him.

Aila nodded once, and the hunters whose guns were pointed at the back of the children's heads pulled the hoods back so they could see. The remaining two blonde-haired girls looked at their surroundings bleary-eyed, and the brown-haired boy was the first to start walking after Silas' encouragement. With their pace slow, the children walked forward, the hunters still behind them as Aila walked closer to them. 

Aila assessed the two girls quickly, gently moving their chins to the side and checking their eyes before growing her claws and cutting the rope around their wrists. This was followed promptly by the brown-haired boy's wrists being unbound.

"Go on, it's okay, you're safe," Aila softly spoke and watched as they rushed past her and into the arms of her friends.

"Take them to their parents immediately," She ordered through a mind-link. Aila didn't need to know the specifics if they would order someone else or not; she just needed them safe and to end this once and for all.

Guns were instantly pointed at her, and two of the hunters came forward, grabbing her by her arms. "There's no need to hold onto me. I am willingly.. well, I am complying." She ripped her arms out of their hold and marched forward with her head held high, her eyes solely focused on Silas and Clint. Clint seemed to make her more nervous than Silas like he was barely stable, he did not move, but his eyes spoke volumes. Eyes that she had to look away from immediately now that she was closer to him. 

"Ajax.." Aila breathed through the mind-link. After staring into the eyes of a monster, fear was starting to kick in. But her composure never faltered in front of them, "I want you in the sky. They are distracted by me at the moment. I want you to check if there are any more."

She didn't want her pack attacking if they were just going to be ambushed. There were sixty-five of them, and her pack was big, but she didn't want it turning into a blood bath. They still had guns that could kill many with their silver bullets.

"On it," Ajax replied quickly. 

"Aila. You never cease to amaze me. Now, this wasn't so bad.." Silas smiled and placed his hand on the lower part of her back, steering her towards the mountains. "I do hope you have been smart and not ordered an attack on us. That would mean us killing off your beloved Chase.." He continued in a sing-song voice.

Aila's head whipped to the side and looked up at Silas relaxed face. His shades his eyes from her, but she knew he wasn't bluffing. To make things clearer for her, he reached his hand out to the side, and Clint placed a phone in his hand. He pressed a button, and Aila's face paled as she saw Chase on the screen from the video call.

He was sitting in a dark room, his mouth gagged, hands bound, and his body covered in sweat, blood and bruises. The black shirt he had on was ripped away from him, only staying on around his shoulders, showing off some new knife wounds that screamed to be cared for on his ripped body. He had been torture with a blade, not just being beaten up.

The picture made her feel sick. How could Silas do this to his son? 

"Aila, I found the hunters cars in the mountains. There's a van as well. When I checked, it was heavily guarded. They seemed to be the only other hunters that are here. But when I got closer to the van.. I could smell blood. There's someone in there.." Ajax mind-linked her. His words made her relax slightly, but Chase's picture did not. She removed her eyes from the screen and looked off towards the mountains they were walking to. Was Chase in that van?

While her thoughts were trying to form another plan, and her pack waited patiently for her to tell them when to attack, her eyes landed on a figure that sent a chill down her spine. He stood so casually, his long white hair blowing in the breeze. The designer suit he wore, looking very misplaced, considering where he was and the situation. Where the hell did Gabriel keep coming from?

Her question floated away quickly as the clouds finally let loose the rain that had been bottled up, cascading heavily on top of them. But her eyes never wavered from Gabriel's, whose face was rigid, expressionless and unwilling to help. Except for a single brow rising up as if to say, 'I told you so.' He then moved his head ever so slightly to the side, gesturing to her to come to him. But it was such a tiny movement she wasn't sure if she imagined it. 

He waved his hand, and she suddenly heard his soft, cold voice whisper in her mind, "Come with me now, Aila. They will come back, even if you killed Silas. There will always be a replacement."

Aila didn't reply to his words or question how he could speak to her like he was a werewolf. She put it down to him being a royal vampire. She turned her head to Silas and nodded her head in response.

"Nothing will happen. You have my word." Even with her words said, she still couldn't help but cross her fingers by her side. The side he could not see, of course. 

"Excellent. I have decided that you will still get a nice room, like before.." Silas began chatting happily as though he was not just part of a hostage situation. His hand pushed into her back more, urging her forwards. 

"What are you doing?" Gabriel's voice ripped through her mind, sending an iciness down her body from his aggressiveness. 

'I'm keeping everyone safe, Gabriel. Not just my pack, but Chase as well.' Aila knew he could read minds and glanced at his stony features before she continued forwards.

"Fuck! I'll get the filthy human. I'll get Chase. Aila, if you go with them, that's it. You won't be coming back. They will hide you better, and Damon won't find you. Your pack WON'T find you!" Gabriel's stone-cold voice pleaded, making Aila swallow past the lump forming in her throat. 

She looked back at the wolves only she and her kind could see and to her friends who were standing in anticipation. Their bodies tense.

"Where are the children?" She mind-linked Chiara.

"Safe," Came her blunt reply. She shifted her body slightly, the only tell-tale sign that she was anxious.

Aila looked for Gabriel, but he was already gone. The next tense minutes were silent until some gunshots erupted through the mountains, echoing back to them. Aila heard it before the humans and instantly sent a pack mind-link. 

"CHARGE!"