HUNTED

Damon agreed to stay the night, though he did not look relaxed. Aila could feel his distrust through the bond by not just the vampire in the room but the \'retired\' hunter. She did not blame him; her company of friends were much more different to that of the average werewolf. Although, she was also not an average werewolf.

Aila was brought up as a human only to discover that she was a werewolf with royal blood, and now it turns out she was also part vampire. She didn\'t know how to feel about that. After all, she didn\'t know much about them and only knew of Gabriel and Cassius. The others seemed arrogant and intended to pick a fight with her group at the bar.

They were still in the lounge area by the bar in Gabriel\'s penthouse. It was late, but from the excitement of the fight and hearing Gabriel\'s story, it seemed nobody in the group was ready to settle down for the night. Aila understood it could very well be because they were with the Vampire King and above a vampire bar, and she presumed in their territory as well. But she did not say anything and instead tried helping Ajax in keeping the atmosphere light.

Though it didn\'t seem to work, and Ajax became quite drunk from his mixture of cocktails. That, however, was quite entertaining in itself with how much he tried to gain Chiara\'s attention through childish games. 

Everyone was consumed by their thoughts. And after being in the same room with Gabriel again, Aila was reminded of who the real king of brooding was. He put Chase to shame. Although Damon was also especially quiet, and she knew there was a lot to talk about. With this on her mind, she announced that they should get some rest and plan their next steps in the morning. So far, it was only her, Finn, Ajax, and Chase aware of the plan to attack the nearest hunter\'s compound, and they needed to attack it soon before they evacuate it.

Gabriel returned from brooding across the room after Aila announced they wanted to go to bed. "Let me show you around then to your rooms. You can go anywhere except for my office," He said and turned on the spot, not waiting for their response. Although he was a little curt and sharp with his behaviour, Gabriel was still a good host.

They walked past the bar leading to another lounge area with a waterfall on the other side of the bar\'s wall with a modern chandelier hanging in front of it. Aila and Damon followed behind the vampire while the others scanned the floor for hidden dangers and were in awe of the luxurious penthouse. The interior of the penthouse was all the same monochrome black, white and gold colour scheme, but mainly consisting of black.

Walking past the lounge area, Aila eyed the white piano set atop a fur rug on the corner of a curved staircase that led to another floor that overlooked the one they were on. On the opposite side was a staircase leading to the floor below. At the far end across from them was Gabriel\'s office, which was closed off. He showed the group the floor below them first, revealing a stylishly lit indoor and outdoor pool with a sun terrace, a cinema room, another small bar area with cigars on display.

Chiara scolded Ajax after he nearly fell into the pool from being intoxicated from the many cocktails he kept making. After pulling him away from the pool, she asked Gabriel where Ajax\' room would be and dragged him away to put him to bed. Ajax arm was over her shoulders by the time they made it out of the glass door and up the stairs, her keeping him from staggering too much.

Aila shook her head with a smile but continued to follow on the tour of such a place. Although they lived in a mansion and stayed in Cassius\' penthouse, Aila, Finn, and Chase still couldn\'t help but look at everything in awe. It was overly luxurious with everything a person would need. There was even a kitchen and dining area that was spotless, not looking as though it was ever used. Figures.

Once they were upstairs, the grandeur did not stop there, with another lounge with bookcases, making it seem as though it was a chilled library with a hanging rounded armchair with a fluffy cushion that looked out of the window. Aila thought it was quite girly and did not see Gabriel using such a thing, but then there was a leather chair sided by it with a small coffee table between them, looking more like something he would use.

However, she did not dwell further on it as they were finally led to the bedrooms, each with an ensuite. This time, Aila was not in the master bedroom, which was on a totally separate floor which was purely for the bedroom. The winding staircase leading up to the floor made her curious to see how it looked, but she did not want to pry further into the vampire\'s life.

They were the ones to randomly end up at his nightclub and now penthouse. Although Aila did feel a little sad, none of them knew where Gabriel went after they escaped the hunter\'s compound, and he must have known what pack saved them. After all, she was a Cross. Gabriel could have sought them out, but she understood why he didn\'t. He escaped separately because of the pack of werewolves, let alone seeking her out on their territory. 

Aila looked at Gabriel\'s back as he showed her and Damon to their room. She bit her lip, still thinking about what the vampire had done in the time they spent apart. It had not been that long, but seeing him outside of the compound, wearing designer clothes and living a luxurious life, it felt like more than weeks had passed between them but years.

He must have had so much to do; he was missing from the throne for ten years, although Cassius said he took care of it.  A low growl vibrated from her side, and she looked up at Damon\'s displeased face. Aila reached out to the bond and could feel his anger at her still thinking about the vampire. She reached her hand out to reassure him-

"This will be your room," Gabriel pointed to a black door with a gold patterned engraving going up the side. "Oh, and it is soundproof." He smirked, not caring for Damon\'s obvious annoyance.

"Thank you for tonight, Gabriel. For explaining everything and.. not kicking us out after fighting with your customers.." Aila spoke to his back. He halted for a moment, and he nodded once before continuing to show the others to their rooms.

"Alpha, Luna.." Finn bared his neck after seeing Damon\'s barely contained anger. Aila\'s eyes widened at the hostility coming off of him, but she did not comment on it. "I will see where my room is but set up shifts with the others to protect your room."

"You don\'t need to-"

"Go. Don\'t interrupt us," Damon snapped before opening the door to their bedroom. Finn bared his neck again and dashed off after Gabriel.

Aila closed the door behind her, leaning against it as she looked at Damon\'s colossal form and the large bedroom before her. Her heart pounded against her chest at the sight of him. They were finally alone, something she had been yearning for since she saw him arrive. But matters became complicated, and they couldn\'t reunite how either of them wanted to.

Her hand fisted by her side as she felt the turbulent emotions rippling through Damon. But he kept his face impassive as he sat down on the end of the bed facing her, his luminescent orbs piercing through her.

"Take off your clothes."