HUNTED

Aila woke up, slightly disorientated. She bolted upright in the huge bed she had been sleeping in; her eyes scanned her surroundings sleepily until they landed on the shirtless, muscular back of Alpha Damon. He stood, watching outside of the balcony door, a cup of warm liquid in his hand while his other hand raked through his dishevelled hair. He turned his head and looked at her, almost as if he could sense her staring at him; she felt her face heat up as the day before flashed across her mind.

Damon left her feeling agitated, and in need of a release, and in return, she slapped him in the face. Aila looked down, too tired to challenge him so early in the morning, but as she did, she saw the clothes she had been sleeping in. They weren't the leggings and hoody she was wearing in the library. Aila wore silk shorts and a matching vest top; she felt quite exposed and self-conscious at the thought of him undressing her. Aila looked back up when she heard the 'clink' of a cup being set down to see Damon leave the cup on the fireplace and stroll towards her.

There was no anger in his posture or his eyes, which made her tense shoulders relax. Yet, she still brought the duvet cover up to her chest protectively as she watched his eyes drink her in; this only made him smile as amusement flashed across his handsome face.

"Good morning, Aila," His deep voice rumbled, sending a shiver directly to her core. 

"Why did you change me out of my clothes?" Aila asked, her eyes hardening. She didn't want him to catch on to how much she wanted to jump him and ride him senseless. It was highly embarrassing; he only said good morning to her.

Damon climbed onto the bed and crawled towards her; she watched hungrily as his muscles flexed. Her eyes then met his again, and she was nearly knocked back from the smouldering look he was giving her. He reached out and placed a finger under the string of her vest, sliding slowly with a featherlight touch that caused goosebumps to surface on her skin. 

"I thought you would be comfier in this. Should I have left you in your hoody?" He questioned her; her heart fluttered from the genuine look in his eyes. 

She glanced away as she answered, "This is fine, thank you." 

Aila's cheeks heated again at the thought of him changing her and by the fact that she slept so deeply through it. Aila then felt his finger under her chin and moved her head, so she faced his breath-taking face again. His eyes were lit with amusement, "Why are you blushing?" she could see his lips twitch into a smile.

Aila tried to move her head away again, but his finger must have been made out of steel because she couldn't move. Sighing, she whispered, "You changed me. Saw me naked."

Damon's chuckle made her look up, her cheeks flushing all the more but with her rising temper at being laughed at. Yet, once she met his molten silver eyes again, she saw that they had softened and crinkled slightly at the sides. Damon almost looked younger than he is; he was far from old, he was possibly a few years older than her, but his consistently stoic or angry features made him seem older.

"You have a beautiful body Aila, you should never be ashamed of it," He spoke softly. Aila was surprised by how he read her vulnerability so easily. She hoped it was the bond or his key observation skills; she never thought of herself as a book, easy to read. But if that was the case, then it could make it harder for her as a Luna and Queen to keep her thoughts to herself.

Damon brought his hand to cup her cheek while he stared at her and then looked down at her lips. Instead of kissing her, like she began craving for, he pulled himself off the bed and walked towards the wardrobe. 

"You should get changed. Chiara is training you today," His voice had deepened, taking on a more serious tone. 

Aila looked for the alarm clock and saw that it was 6:30am. She should have guessed her' lie ins' were no more. Bringing her feet out of bed, she made her way to the wardrobe, where Damon pulled some shorts out. Aila was quick to follow Damon and get changed. Choosing some sporty leggings, a sports bra and a baggy vest; all new clothes were thanks to the man now sitting on the sofa. He wore his shorts, trainers and a tank top that showed his extensive muscles; as casual as he looked, his face was stern while looking at some papers. 

Aila sat down next to him, "You always have paperwork to go through. What is it?"

"All sorts of shit. Laws that have been broken and by who, packs fighting over territory or in general, housing issues, families to be taken care of, etcetera." He replied, his eyes still on the papers.

Aila blinked, astonished at the duties he had to take on as an Alpha. It made her wonder about her own duties once she became Luna. The thought made her still again. Instead of facing her thoughts about being a Luna, she jumped back up and began making her way to the door.

"Hold on," Damon's voice rumbled through the room. Aila turned to look at him just as she reached out for the doorknob. He dropped the papers onto the sofa and sauntered over to her position, placing his finger under her chin, "Can you promise me one thing today, please?" He asked her; his eyes were swirling silver, almost hypnotising Aila as she stared into them.

"That depends on what it is," She replied, slightly breathless. Damon's lips twitched, holding back a smile.

"Can you behave yourself in front of the pack?" His tone was serious; all humour had left his face. Aila watched as his eyes shimmered slightly, meaning Darius was very near the surface, ready for a rebellious reply.

Aila put on a seductive smile and internally laughed when she saw his eyes darken from lust, "That depends on you," She purred. 

He narrowed his eyes at her, "Remember what I told you, Aila."

She almost heard him click his tongue after saying her name. Aila stepped closer, keeping her eyes locked with his, "And remember what I told you." Her voice was solid and calm at the same time. Aila waited for him to reprimand her, but he stepped back while his jaw ticked as he continued to stare at her. 

"It's for your own good," Damon muttered under his breath; Aila knew she was not meant to hear his response. Aila swung the door open and replied just as quietly, "I'll be fine, Alpha. I have read some of the pack rules."

It was true if she kept disobeying the Alpha of the pack, even if she was his mate, he would still have to punish her. If his Luna wouldn't obey him, how could the rest of the pack follow him?

Aila walked down the hallway, and Damon quickly caught up to her. He placed his hand around her waist, almost protectively, when they came across a few pack members, both males. They bowed their heads at the pair and let them walk ahead of them before following behind. Although Aila felt like rolling her eyes at Damon's possessiveness, the feeling of his hand on her waist was quite comforting when she was about to go into the unfamiliar territory of 'werewolf training'. 

In the time it took them to make it to the grassy field where the mats were already laid out, Aila reminded herself of each pack leader's role. When she saw Gamma Chiara already flipping someone over her shoulder and leaving them with a punch to the throat, she knew they had the correct Gamma for the role. However, Chiara was the first female to take the title from what she read, making the woman that much more impressive. 

In the Silver Crescent's pack, the Gamma was a strong leader in charge of training their best warriors, border control and helped the Alpha deal with punishments and inputting war strategies. The Delta, from what she remembered reading, was much more like a bodyguard to the Luna and didn't hold much authority. They were the fourth and lowest ranking of the leaders and would only step up to the Gamma's role if the Gamma stepped down from their position, lost in a challenge or died. For a female being in a higher rank than Darren, she didn't need to guess that he did not like Gamma Chiara. 

"I would love to meet her mate. He must be super bold or scary to be with someone like her," Malia finally spoke up. The wolf had been there the whole time. She was rather happy watching the morning's drama. Aila agreed with her; that was someone she was looking forward to meeting, if, of course, she had her mate. She presumed if she had one, he would have been at dinner. 

As they continued to approach the Gamma, a crowd began to form around the mat she was at, where Chiara finished off a man twice the size of her. Aila felt herself getting pumped at the idea of being taught by her and becoming just as good. Damon let his hand drop from her waist, which made her glance at him before starting to walk off to meet Gamma Chiara. He called after her, "Aila."

Aila turned around and was shocked when she nearly bumped into his chest. Raising her head, she almost fell back until he grabbed her by the back of her head and waist, pulling her closer to him and smashing his lips onto hers. The moment their lips touched, a spark of electricity went through the both of them, and Aila's wide eyes closed as she responded to his touch. 

Her own hands glided up to his stubbled jaw as he deepened the kiss. Damon pulled back slightly and waited for her to open her eyes; she calmed her breathing down as she found herself melting into those silver orbs of his again. Aila faintly heard human calls of howling, but she ignored them as the pair kept their eyes locked on each other.

"You're MINE," Damon growled, his eyes then glanced up, moving slowly as though he was announcing to anyone else who's she was. He released her and stormed off. 

Aila felt as though a tornado smacked her in the face, spun her around, and she was now left dazed as it stormed off and began barking orders. When Aila turned around, she saw most of the pack had seen their kiss, and all began dispersing with broad smiles on their faces. Except for a few females that were obviously jealous of her being mated to their Alpha. Her eyes then landed on a pair she recognised immediately. Finn and Ajax. They both jogged to her; Finn looked in shock, and Ajax was grinning like a child in a sweet shop. 

"You know how to make an entrance!" Ajax boasted. 

Aila rolled her eyes and realised that the little spectacle's sole purpose was for the Alpha to show off his mate to the pack, and any male to touch her outside of training would be dead. Unlike Damon, Aila had ignored any attention the men were giving her, which was only them glancing in her direction. But being the Alpha, he had to show who she belonged to.

It grated at her a little, but she decided she didn't mind it after seeing the looks on all the women's faces. Aila also didn't want to challenge the Alpha in front of the whole pack, not about something so trivial. 

Not yet anyway.