HUNTED

"I erm I was.. waiting for Gabriel and got bored after waiting for so long.." The lady replied nervously. Aila noted how she wouldn\'t meet her eyes, but what made her still was when she bared her neck to her.

Why did she bare her neck to her? Unless she was-

"I never thought I would ever meet the future Alpha Queen. But not only have I seen you once, but twice now. I feel honoured meeting you right now, even if the circumstances look a little odd," Said the woman who kept her neck bared in front of her, showing her respect. Who was she?

"Please raise your head. I don\'t bite.." Aila replied, "I apologise if I come off rude, but when did we meet last?"

The brown-haired beauty raised her deep chocolate brown eyes to meet hers. There was something about this woman that Aila couldn\'t put her finger on. Already she knew the lady was a werewolf, after seeing her eyes and baring her neck to her. It took her a moment because she was petite, and all the she-wolves Aila had met so far were taller than her, and she wasn\'t even small.

"We were both in wolf form, and I don\'t think you were in your right frame of mind. I thought you turned into a type 1 rogue.. But I can see you overcome it. You are as powerful as the rumours say.. I haven\'t seen anyone overcame it.." She looked at her carefully. Aila took a step forward, and the girl took one back, almost jumping nervously, her eyes flicking to the door for escape.

"Are you.. scared of me?" Aila asked with arched brows. Was she scared of her or maybe Gabriel?

She shook her head, "No," Her voice was small, and it tugged at her heartstrings. Aila stared at the woman who could not meet her gaze again. She took that moment to really observe her. There was something both fragile and strong about her. In fact, this whole time, she kept glancing at the door as though Aila was a monster ready to kill her.

It seemed she too liked to wear black. Her attire of black ripped skinny jeans, combat boots, and a long sleeve black top covered her small frame. "What is your name?" She asked.

Seconds went by between them as the she-wolf before her seemed to struggle with answering her. It seemed she didn\'t want to, or would she give her a fake name.

"Esme," The woman finally replied.

"No last name?" Aila asked, seeing how much more she can push out of her.

Esme shook her head and bit her lip before glancing at her warily. "I am a rogue. My last name perishes with it," She whispered, looking ashamed at herself for such a thing.

Aila\'s eyes widened at this. She said they met before..

"We shared a meal with her when we were becoming feral.." Malia added to Aila\'s thoughts. Though Aila was now wondering what the hell she was doing in Gabriel\'s place and in his office. What did she drop just now? Aila walked around the desk, causing Esme to scatter around the other side of it.

So, Esme was a rogue, and that was why she seemed fearful of her. Aila didn\'t know what the usual custom was when treating with a type 2 rogue, but Esme had not attacked her. Her eyes flickered to the floor and frowned when she saw it was only a book the rogue picked up.

"What are you doing here, Esme?" She enquired; her voice became suspicious. It wasn\'t because of a simple book the rogue had picked up but in the way she was acting so skittish in a room that was off-limits to everyone. Gabriel went after her earlier, and so did Damon. Who was she?

"I should be asking both of you that question," A chilling voice whipped through the air. Aila snapped her head back towards the door where Gabriel stood, his hand on the doorknob gripped so tightly that they could hear the metal bend under his will.

"Gabriel-"

"Get out," He snapped, interrupting Esme\'s small plea, yet his eyes were locked with Aila\'s as though the woman was of no one important.

Esme kept her head low and scrambled out of the room; Gabriel\'s eyes followed her until they flicked back to Aila. She followed behind her, not nearly as terrified, but she did watch the she-wolf run around the corner. Gabriel placed his hand against the doorframe stopping Aila from exiting. She looked up at him and almost flinched from the hardness behind his eyes; if she thought Damon could look scary, this guy looked like a fricken demon ready to drag her to hell.

"That was a lovely picture right there, Aila. Thanks for that.. You kept calling him a bloody angel as well! Stop forgetting he is a vampire-"

"I am also part vampire," Aila interrupted her wolf\'s minor ramblings.

"Do not come back to this room again. It is for your safety and my privacy. I have allowed you all to stay here, do not take advantage of my generosity," Gabriel said; his voice was low and dangerous, but Aila did not feel threatened. She didn\'t know why she was never scared of him.

"I was looking for you and found Esme instead.." She snapped her eyes up, looking directly into his accusingly, "Why do you have a werewolf here, Gabriel? She\'s fricken petrified and-"

"That\'s none of your business," He snapped, Aila parted her lips, her anger rising at his comment, but his hand squeezed on the doorframe making the wood crack. His gaze burned into hers, and she closed her mouth. Gabriel sighed and relaxed his hand, suddenly looking tired. "I\'ve already discussed this with Alpha Damon. I do not answer to you, Aila."

The vampire dropped his hand, and Aila passed through, waiting for him to close the door behind him. "Gabe, I don\'t-"

"Don\'t EVER call me Gabe," Gabriel said through gritted teeth making Aila\'s stomach drop as a shiver went down her spine. "I despise that nickname.." He began to walk in the direction of the dining room. "Amelia always called me it. I cannot bear to hear it leave your lips as well."

Aila looked up at him, concern flashing behind her eyes. He looked away from her, but she could still see a flicker of pain behind his cold eyes. She looked like her ancestor, and if she called him by that name, it must bring up a lot of horrible and possible pleasant memories of Amelia.

Gabriel scoffed, stopping before the door to the dining room, "There are no nice memories of her."

Aila reached out and squeezed his arm, causing him to still and look at her with widened eyes, shock apparent on his marble features. "If that were true, you wouldn\'t react so badly. There\'s nothing wrong with having nice memories with someone like that," She whispered, trying to keep her voice low so the others in the room wouldn\'t hear them. Aila could have spoken to him in her mind, but old habits die hard. Speaking aloud was normal to a human.

"The bad outweighs the good," Gabriel replied before pushing open the door and gesturing for her to enter first.