HUNTED

Aila held her breath at Cassius' words as she stared back at him warily. Her heart pounded against her chest in angst, but she nodded in response, feeling torn between the slight trust she was giving him; it was both feigned and startlingly so not pretence. It was then, as she let Cassius lead the way into a large drawing-room, she realised that her plan was going to be much harder than she initially believed. 

This sire bond affected her differently from her mate bond to Damon. Aila wanted to trust him, but it was from this bizarre feeling of fondness towards Cassius, he was her master, and she didn't want to cause any trouble for him. Yet at the same time, she knew his character, knew his past and not to mention he had kidnapped her. It was as though she was being torn in two, trying to gauge which were her true feelings, she tried to look for her wolf to try and help her away from this fog clouding her judgement, but Malia stayed quiet. Rightfully so, they needed to keep Cassius happy, and by doing so, Malia's presence will remain with her. 

Aila released her breath, unknowingly still holding it from earlier and glanced at the magnificence of the drawing-room. Her trainers squeaked along with the white and gold marble floors as they walked by arched walls holding up a black and gold brass balcony overlooking the room. The high ceilings held chandeliers with a marvellous painting of the sky with cherubs and angels with a beaming sun, and the corners of the rooms once again had the cherub statues, this time with instruments in their hands. She lowered her gaze to see a grand piano in the corner across from multiple dark blue sofas, golden coffee tables that were intricately engraved along with vases and fresh flowers. 

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Aila stopped beside one of the large arched windows that overlooked the courtyard she saw earlier before resting her eyes on a few paintings in between the windows. They were portraits of Gabriel and Cassius, seemingly from different eras as well. Aila's heart dropped at seeing their faces growing colder as time seemed to go on. All because of a certain vampire. She looked down, frowning and wishing more than anything for Cassius and Gabriel to make up. 

If they did, wouldn't that solve everything?

Cassius sighed and released her hand. "What are you thinking so intently about?" He asked quietly while looking at the portraits, his face impassive. 

"Have you not already read my thoughts?" Aila swiftly replied, keeping her eyes set on the portraits before her. 

"I don't make a habit out of it. So, no, it ruins any plans to engage in conversation. What were you thinking so deeply about?" Cassius asked again, still facing the portraits. 

Aila looked at him, tilting her head to the side slightly, concern marring her forehead. "I wondered why these were still up and if you despised your brother as you claim to," She replied hesitantly. From the cold look and slight glare he sent her and from the way Davian inhaled sharply at her comment, Aila knew the topic was not one broached lightly or at all. The room felt suddenly colder, the atmosphere tense as she waited for Cassius to respond to her. 

Cassius chuckled darkly, and his eyes lit up in amusement as he glanced at her. "You seem to take more interest in me than you claim to." Came his response that avoided her comment. The white-haired vampire walked away from her, his steps slow and echoing in the grandness of the drawing-room. "This room was originally built for Gabriel. It was one of his favourite rooms.. I even brought this piano for him recently," He smiled sadly, staring at the piano. "Do you think it is strange?"

Aila took a tentative step forward, then another as she rounded to face Cassius, watching his features, his eyes that were lost in the past gone, but the fondness that was once there slowly darkened into something cold and menacing. She could feel his emotions even as his face hardened once more and he became expressionless. Cassius was torn about his brother; it made her own heart shake in anger from what her ancestor did. She didn't just get in between brothers but also broke her family apart, turning her son into an uncontrollable hybrid.

"I don't think it is strange.." Aila whispered, hoping that by engaging with this side of Cassius, he might open up to her more. It was worth a try in gaining his trust, though there was also another part of her that wanted him to trust her, be happy and free himself of this anguish. "If you brought this recently, doesn't that mean you want to make amends?"

Cassius smiled thinly, and he glanced at her from the corners of his eyes. 

"I think it is time for you to feed." Aila blanched at the sudden change in topic and gulped when her mind spun towards the idea of feeding. 

She clung onto Cassius' forearm and stared up at him nervously. "You won't let me go crazy, right?" She asked breathlessly as her heart began to pound again from the desire to drink. 

Cassius smiled at her, resting his hand on top of her head. "Of course, I won't. I'm your master now; I'm here to help you."

A scoff from behind the pair gained their attention. Aila whipped her head around, and she blinked in surprise, forgetting that Davian had followed them in. He was standing against one of the pillars below the balcony overlooking the drawing-room, his arms crossed as his eyes flicked between them. He didn't look pleased by how close they were, but Aila continued to hold onto Cassius' arm, deciding it was the best form of action for now. 

"Oh, don't look at us like that. I'm sorry that I never helped you when you awakened. But I can't exactly let our precious Aila go without any direction. The times have changed now; people will notice more if there were mass murders of bodies drained of blood," Cassius replied flippantly, waving his free hand at him nonchalantly. 

"Now, take a seat," Cassius instructed Aila, gesturing her towards the cushioned sofa. She sat down obediently, her hands now playing with the ends of her sleeves. Cassius clapped his hands twice, letting it echo, and the doors to the far right opened.. Aila watched as five humans entered the room, stopping before her in a line.