Aila woke inside her chambers, her attire still bloodied, shoes removed and thankfully, another blanket atop her bed. But the haziness of relief evaporated as flashes of the day before returned to the forefront of her mind, and she jolted up and out of bed. Cassius intentionally fought in the open for the world to know about supernatural creatures.
Now she hadn’t been a part of this magical world long, and in that short time, a lot had happened. But staying hidden had kept the creatures alive for centuries, with only the hunters knowing of their existence.
This wasn’t something that could be covered up. It was already on the news! What was he thinking?!
Aila barged through the double doors leading to the large, adjoined living room and stopped as her eyes landed on Harry jumping up from the couch that tipped over from his surprise, and Davian stopped pacing. The pair looked at her, one full of worry and the other waiting for orders. Then their eyes dropped to her bloody attire, but neither commented.
Aila released a frustrated sigh, but before she turned around to shower and change, she stared out the window, noting the sun’s position in the sky. "What time is it? How long was I out for?" She asked, furrowing her brows and remembering Cassius used compulsion on her to go to sleep.
"It’s about 3pm. You’ve been out since leaving Bramhurst yesterday," Davian replied calmly, his hands behind his back. The sun shone through his dark locks and highlighted the blue hues of his eyes, eyes like hers. She stared for a moment, feeling her chest tighten at the reminder that Cassius had two hybrids under his control, two under the Cross name.
"That’s the longest I’ve slept since before the ball," Aila murmured, though surprise still pulled her brows upwards. Now her vampire genes were awakened, she could go longer without sleep. Shaking her head, the hybrid turned back to her room to get cleaned up.
Aila returned not long after, feeling more in control, wearing over-the-knee white boots and a black mid-thigh skin-tight dress with a determined set to her brows, eyes flashing slightly. She waltzed through her living room, shoulders back, chin tilted up as she felt the bond tell her of Cassius’ location.
On the way, she stopped only for a moment to see one of the vampire’s staff had turned the tv on in one of the rooms.
The screen revealed footage of a large black wolf running into the woods and out of sight. Aila bit her tongue as her distress over her mate returned, but the bond continued to tell her he was alive and his injuries had healed entirely. Though that worry remained, her temper spiked, remembering the state her Beta was also left in.
Aila turned on her heel, walking with purpose, the lycan by her side and the hybrid ancestor on the other. "Davian, you need to tell me now. Are you going to get in my way?" She spun on him, making Harry stumble to the side, but Davian’s movements were swifter, and he stopped before running into her.
Aila didn’t tell him she was done playing nice, following Cassius around like a damned puppy, but she needed to know if Davian would be trouble for her.
He was older than her and so much more powerful than her. That didn’t mean she wouldn’t try anything but did she still need to be cautious?
Davian’s expression remained the same, stoic, but there was a little glint in his eyes. Something that wasn’t there before. A spark. Aila’s lips twitched into a smile before she hid it by clearing her throat. She liked what she saw. But his response was the same as before.
"Don’t trust me." He looked away before adding quietly, "But I will help as much as I can. I have remained his puppet for years; I will not let the same happen to you."
Aila searched his eyes; though there was obvious guilt and self-loathing, that spark was yet to die. What happened on those streets seemed to bring a part of him back to life. She nodded and continued to Cassius’ study.
"Harry, check on the lycans. See how Aldric is and report back to me when I am free of Cassius," Aila mind-linked the lycan, not stopping as she approached the double doors to where Cassius was. Harry was becoming more and more trustworthy and reliable. After this, she wondered if maybe he’d join her pack.
Lycan or not, rogue or not, he had shown his loyalty to the point of covering her scent with his and not caring if she was part vampire, among other things. That was far from the bratty attitude he showed her when they first met. Harry nodded and marched away, his red hair shimmering under the soft hues of the light; it was dishevelled from chilling on the couch and was growing quite long.
It made him look more like a rogue, feral.
Entering the room, Aila found her master on the phone, smiling with a little spring to his step as he walked around the desk. Aila narrowed her eyes, wondering what made him so happy. That was when she remembered Gabriel disappearing with the warlock. Was he.. dead?
Seeing her enter, Cassius hung up and sent her a charming smile. It bounced right off her as she scowled at him. He sighed dramatically and appeared before her, resting his hands on her shoulders. "What’s wrong? I thought some sleep would revitalise you. Or are you hungry?"
Aila slapped his hands away and walked past him, past the long table and bookcases, until she was before his desk, looking at the screen playing on his laptop of the fight in the streets between werewolves, hybrids, a vampire and warlock. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes. "Explain, Cass, and don’t try to put me to sleep again. You wanted me here.
You want the lycans here, and your plan seems to be coming together, but it’s time you tell me everything. I’ve had enough of these games." Aila’s voice remained quiet and calm, but she could feel the fury bubbling inside her, waiting to explode.
"I thought you enjoyed our little games," Cassius cooed with a smirk, then sat in his desk chair, his hands automatically going for her hips to make her sit atop him.
Aila slipped out of the position before his hands gripped her. "You tried to kill my mate. You tried to kill my Beta, and you’re probably intent on killing your brother." She leaned forwards, eyes blazing as she looked at him in disgust. A growl ripped from her lips. "Do not touch me."
Cassius’ eyebrows rose, the only indication he was surprised by her outburst, but he remained seated, calm as he stapled his fingers together, his elbows on the armrest. "I see you are upset." He nodded to his statement. "I had no intention of killing your mate or that Beta. As for my brother.. that is of no concern to you. I will do with him as I see fit-"
"He is my friend," Aila growled, her fingers dug into the desk where she’d rested against it, leaning towards him as she tried to control her claws and fangs. "When my friends are in trouble, I go to help. Or have you forgotten that already since being in this damned castle? What do you want, Cassius?"
Straight to the point again. Aila just wanted an answer, something just something to work with. Every word leaving his lips at the moment seemed to add fuel to the fire in her veins.
Cassius leaned back, a smile playing on his lips. "I have not forgotten that about you, Aila. It is something I admire about you, but.. that is also your weakness. What I want.. is for you to be my Queen, rule by my side while I control the world."
Aila’s breath hitched then she burst into a peal of laughter, watching as Cassius’ face grew colder at her outburst. She wiped at the corner of her eyes, where tears began to escape. "You can’t be serious. Really? Really!" She swallowed down another chuckle. "It’s something so basic.
You want to rule the world like some supervillain?"
Aila watched his face a moment more before feeling awkward from the steel behind his eyes. He did not respond, but she could feel his anger towards her for laughing at him.
"You’re already a Queen and Alpha Queen and spoken for," Malia piped up then, bristling at the edges of her mind. She had been quiet and distant until now, but it seemed even her ire could not hold her back.
Aila tried a different tactic; she knew stating the obvious, like Malia, would not get her anywhere. "Cassius.. why? Don’t you want something more meaningful? Something-"
"How is it not meaningful?!" Cassius snapped, his voice so sharp it broke the decanter on the coffee table behind her. Its contents spilt out and the shards scattered on the table and rug beneath it. "The creatures have been inferior for centuries.. hiding in fear because of what humans might do to them. It’s pathetic. And we are NOT the inferior species."
Aila paused, watching as a light shone behind his eyes as he began to speak, losing himself to his ultimate goal. He stood abruptly and tapped at his computer screen, a smirk playing on his lips. "Look at them. They’re already so scared. They know already how superior we are to them, and we haven’t even shown them just how many of us there are."
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Aila watched the screen and watched how the reporter spoke frantically about the ’super humans’ and wolves larger than bears. There was fear in his eyes, and Cassius was delighted by it, but it made her stomach tie into knots.
"Cass.. they have armies, weapons, machines-"
"So do we," Cassius snapped. "What do you think we have been doing here all this time, Aila? I haven’t just been teaching you how to survive as a vampire. Those lycans-"
"Are not to be under your control, Cass," Aila interrupted with a low growl, feeling protective of her lycans. She knew he was collecting them, but she couldn’t set them free yet. She felt horrid for doing it.
"No, they’ll be under yours. Ah-ah," Cassius added with a tut before she could respond. "Like I said.. your friends are your weaknesses. One wrong move, and your mate and your pack are dead. I hoped it wouldn’t come to threats because I do really like you, Aila.
But I’ve come too far now for you to destroy everything."
A timid knock at the door halted their tense conversation. "Ah, that will be the others." Cassius grinned and started to walk around the desk.
"Others?"