HUNTED-Chapter 294: Tense car journey

The car is tense and quiet. Or maybe that was how it felt to Aila because Harry had not said a word to her. She glared at Cassius, who tapped his hands along the dashboard of the car to a tune, a broad smile on his features as though he was delighting in Harry’s brooding.

Aila glanced at him for the thousandth time, worry gnawing in her stomach, desperation clawing at her to say something, anything to cut through this tension growing between them.

But Harry continued to look outside the window as the scenery whizzed by them. They had been in the car for quite some time, even stopping at a petrol station. All thoughts about Clint and avenging herself and her parents were in the back of her mind. It had been on the top of her list, spilling his blood, but before that, she needed to know if she could still trust Harry.

If Harry wanted to flee now, she would let him. It was his choice, after all. But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt to see him leave after finding out she was; well, he couldn’t possibly believe she was a hybrid, though she could see his mind working. That just meant his hatred for vampires was stronger than whatever their relationship was.

Cell buddies?

Or if Ajax was here.. a part of the Prisoners Club.

Aila shook her head at that before staring outside her own window. Hours went by, and they were still on the road; by then, Aila couldn’t take Harry’s silence anymore and ordered Davian to stop the car.

Cassius arched a brow but didn’t say anything as she unbuckled Harry’s seatbelt and opened his door before sliding out and grabbing his shirt before storming off with him in tow towards a set of woods on the side of the road.

’We aren’t running.’ She sent her thoughts to Cassius before putting a wall over her mind again, guarding her thoughts against him.

’I never doubted that. Your present is only an hour away.’ His returning thought made her pause for a moment before flicking her gaze at Harry, who looked flabbergasted by her hauling him behind her.

Aila stopped after five minutes, noting how the master-childe bond tugged at her, announcing they were far enough. Neither Davian nor Cassius could hear their conversation, but it shouldn’t matter. "Why are we out here?" Harry grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest as he scanned their surroundings.

"Get what you want to say off your chest. Then if you want to leave, just go now," Aila said with no flicker of emotion. She’d purposely closed herself off from him.

Harry frowned, observing her features, then glanced back at where they’d come from. "I don’t know what you mean?" He replied with confusion clouding his dark eyes.

It was Aila’s turn to frown before she threw her hands up irritably. "You could cut the tension between us with a knife, for Goddess’s sake!"

Harry’s eyes widened, then crinkled in amusement. "I didn’t realise there was…" He trailed off, watching her mouth open and close.

"Huh?" Aila replied, not feeling rather articulate, but that was the best she could do.

Harry walked forwards and placed his hands on her shoulders, holding her gaze in his own. "We don’t normally talk before a mission.." Aila blinked at his comment and gaped as his words held true. Had it all been in her head? No, she could feel Harry’s anger, could feel the tension brewing in the car. Before she could voice her thoughts, Harry continued. "I don’t care about what you are.

You’re my Queen and have done more for me than anyone."

Aila inhaled sharply at that. Has nobody really ever looked after him? Her eyes trailed over him, from the scar running through his eye to his broad shoulders, before returning to the earnestness in his features. The usual tightness of his mouth or anger flaring in his gaze had cooled.

"No… I didn’t .. I didn’t make up what I felt in the car, Harry.." she trailed off, feeling a little bit foolish.

"I just.. want to kill that freaking vampire so bad. You’re strong.. Why haven’t you and Davian teamed up to take him out? Or all three of us.." Aila grabbed his hands, digging her claws harshly into his skin in warning as she looked at him, silencing him further.

Retracting her claws, Aila shook her head and opened a mind-link between them. "Cassius can control Davian and me. He turned us both into hybrids." Though technically, she was a hybrid beforehand, it was just Gabriel or Cassius’ blood needed to bring out her vampiric side. "He is our master."

A growl erupted from Harry’s chest and his murderous gaze flicked in the direction where the car was still waiting for them. "Don’t do anything. There’s only so many times I can save your ass from him," Aila whispered.

Harry looked back, anger still burning in his eyes, the veins at his neck looked ready to pop out, but a loud screech from above them snapped the pair’s attention to the sky. Aila beamed up at a black hawk circling them, feeling a sudden lightness at who she suspected that animal was.

"We might have another fella in the Prisoner’s Club," she said quietly, her attention still on the bird.

"VIP only, baby girl," Ajax mind-linked her before releasing another high-pitched screech. "Damon is following closely behind. I’d get moving."

Aila nodded, then smirked when she saw Harry looking between the bird and Aila like she might have a few screws loose. She patted his arm, not intending to tell him yet that they were not completely helpless. "We need to get going."

As the pair started to return to the waiting black SUV, the hawk, aka Ajax, circled back around, flying across the road, keeping high in the sky. He continued to follow them, noting a few trees rustling and birds flying away at rapid speeds from the approaching predators. Esme led the werewolves tracking Aila’s group while Damon and the others drove at a safe distance, relying on Ajax’s sat nav.

"There’s an hour left in the journey," Ajax’s voice echoed in Finn’s mind, and he cocked his head to the side, repeating the shapeshifter’s words to the brooding Alpha and Beta in the car as Finn drove.

"We’ve been driving for nearly six hours now," Kane growled in response to the intel, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. "Where the heck are they going?"

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Damon tapped his fingers on his knee as anxiety pumped through him. "Are they intending to leave the country?" He bared his teeth at that, then dismissed it quickly. Ajax and Esme confirmed it was only Cassius, Aila, Davian and that red-haired lycan, who he now knew was called Harry. Cassius wouldn’t go through all that trouble of finding those lycans only to leave them at the castle.

After driving for the first three hours, Damon sent another pack to scout the castle. It was still heavily guarded, even during the day, but if he sent two packs to take them out, then maybe Aila’s escape could be sooner. The Alpha dismissed that as well. Aila was the one in charge; as much as he hated the idea of leaving it all to her, she was the only one who could officially tell him to go ahead.

Already, with messages going between them via Esme, Aila stated multiple times to stand back and wait. It was agonising and torturous, being in the unknown. Damon was used to taking charge; he was the Alpha, but Aila was his equal, and he knew she was looking at this more logically than he was.

She was the one to quickly remind him whose lives would be at stake if she returned to him without understanding Cassius’ motives and what his plans were.

Finally, the car was parked down the side of a street road in the city, Bramhurst. Ajax confirmed they were in the right place. He noted the closest airport was two hours away, and Bramhurst was on the smaller side for a city, but it still had flashy skyscrapers and spotless streets. It was clean, with no smells wafting into the air and no gum on the ground.

"Ajax suggests going to a rooftop. They’ve parked up in front of a building and are waiting.. Aila seems anxious, impatient," Finn relayed the shapeshifter’s mind-link.

Damon’s hands fisted, and his features darkened. He didn’t like the wall built up in the bond. He couldn’t tell what Aila felt or if she was ever hurt. It frustrated the hell out of him, causing him to pace most days. What pissed him off now was Ajax could clearly see her and tell that she was anxious.

"But why is she anxious? This is different.. We are in a city. It is not like the countryside where the hunters have been hiding. We should be careful," Darius added to his thoughts. "There could be vampires or something else in there."

Damon nodded along with his wolf and ordered the others to remain quiet and on guard. As instructed by Ajax, Damon, Kane, and Finn were kneeling on top of a run-down bar across from the shiny office building. The building itself had guards outside revolving doors, their handguns stashed away on their hips. What was in there?

Aila and Cassius remained in the car just below them. It was risky being so close to them, but Damon wasn’t complaining. His wolf certainly wasn’t; he was even placated by being closer to their mate.

"What are they waiting for?" Kane mind-linked him. "I thought it might be another compound.. Like an HQ or something."

Damon narrowed his gaze as another car pulled up outside the office building. A growl rippled from his chest the moment a man stepped out of the car and pushed his blonde hair back. He tapped a code into a security device on the wall and walked inside the building, his silhouette disappearing.

Then, he watched in horror as Aila walked across the road, ignoring the oncoming traffic, her eyes dead set on the building before her.

She looked like an avenging angel, unforgiving, deadly. It was obvious what their goal was. Who Aila’s target is. That fucker, Clint.