HUNTED

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Before Aila could respond, Damon gripped her by the top of her arms, "He's the fucking reason for the rogues attacking!"

Aila blinked as confusion swarmed her mind. It didn't make sense; if Darren was the reason for the rogues attacking, then why was he still here? Why had he helped them during this attack? Her eyes flickered to and from Darren to Damon until they rested on her mate. Calmly, she asked, "How do you know?"

Damon's jaw ticked in agitation, his eyes blazing into hers. He was not used to being questioned. He is the Alpha. But now, it was her job, too, to think like a leader. She needed to be certain first before another life was taken on such a grisly day. 

"Chiara mind-linked me. She said Lydia was the one controlling the rogues to attack the pack," He spat in disgust and dropped his hands from her arms. Aila frowned at this new information, but her instincts were telling her that Darren didn't know.

"May I speak?" Darren asked, taking a step forwards, his eyes on the Alpha and Luna, but he halted when Finn growled at him.

Damon whipped his head around and marched towards him, all his power and fury burning brightly and radiating off him in waves that made the wolves behind Darren flatten their ears and slump their body's down to the ground in submission. Aila chased after Damon; she wanted to stand in front of him and stop him from doing anything too rash. Instead, she mind-linked him so as not to disrespect him again. 

"Don't kill him. Not until we have all the facts," Aila pleaded. The only indication he listened to her plea was the slight turn in his head on his otherwise stiff and solid frame.

Damon stopped across from Darren, and not long after, Aila stood by his side; she glanced anxiously between the two. If Aila was told the previous night that she was concerned about the Delta, she would have laughed, but she was reconsidering him after his actions today. Holding her breath, she waited for Damon to reply. 

"The floor is all yours, Darren. Speak now. It may be the last words you speak," Damon growled, his voice reverberated across the street, and if looks could kill, then Darren would already be dead. Damon's gaze was deadly and unwavering from the Delta's face, making him shift on his feet uncomfortably.

Darren gulped and flickered his eyes between Damon and Aila. "I have a confession to make," He whispered with fear lacing into his voice as he dropped his eyes from their hardened stares.

Gulping again, he timidly looked at them, "I knew Lydia was planning something-" Damon took a step forwards, but Aila placed her hand on his bristling chest, halting him, her eyes locked onto the Delta before them. 

He continued, "But she never told me what the plan was. All she said was that she was calling some friends. I didn't know who or what their intentions were-"

"But you didn't do anything to stop her," Damon snapped.

"I knew she didn't want Aila as the Luna-" Growls erupted from around them; it seemed the pack had begun to gather around them, the last that remained of the wounded wolves and humans. "I too had my doubts-"

"Really? I had no idea," Aila snapped back sarcastically. Her emotions were up and down about the man standing before them. But she reminded herself that even if she did not like him, it did not warrant his death IF he was innocent.

Darren flinched at her words, but he locked his gaze with hers, and she could see the guilt and sorrow behind his eyes. Darren continued again, "I never meant for any of this. I doubted you as a Luna, and Lydia's words were like a sweet poison adding to my hesitation. I followed her and accepted any plans she did announce to me. They were never anything harmful, just little schemes to make you wonder if the role was for you…

"Aila, I am sorry, but whether you believe me or not, I am loyal to my pack. My methods were not.. nice, but my intentions were for the welfare of the pack. It was nothing more than me raising my own doubts at the pack meeting-"

"You didn't just raise your doubts, though, Darren. You blamed me for my parents' death," Aila cried, taking a step forwards while her hand clenched at her chest as though if she didn't, her heart would burst from the pain he caused that night. Darren's words were hurtful, and even now, she still couldn't shake the feeling that it was her fault. 

The wolves surrounding them growled as a few of the humans gasped and murmured between themselves. Darren kneeled down into the wet ground, bowing his head, "Please forgive me, Luna. For the past deeds against you. I was a fucking idiot following Lydia's orders. I never, NEVER wanted the pack to be attacked. My duty is to my pack, to you and to my Alpha."

Aila stared down at his auburn hair for a long while. She was aware that Damon had not said or done anything, and when she glanced at him, she could see the turmoil of a storm in his eyes as he, too, stared at the Delta. 

"You want to make decisions, princess. This will be yours," Damon snapped through the mind-link before announcing it to the pack.

She glanced back at him, but his eyes were still fixed on the kneeling man before them. The weight of what he said pushed down on her shoulders, almost unbearably. It was her decision if the Delta lived or died. But this was not a light decision, and she couldn't help but feel her cheeks heat up at the attention of the pack. Their eyes were fixed on her and the following words that would leave her mouth. 

"What do you think, Malia?" She asked as her eyes began to glow.

"I don't know. I don't think this is a decision to make right now," Malia murmured pensively. 

Aila realised her wolf was right. It had been an extremely long day. She was tired, feeling battered and bruised, and did not want to make the wrong choice if it was just hers to make. Taking a step forward, she pulled her shoulders back and lifted her chin slightly as her eyes looked down at Darren. Everyone seemingly held their breath as they waited for her decision.

"Actions speak louder than words. You have been spiteful, and you have been against your Luna, but this decision should not be made right now. Take him to the basement for further questioning."

At her words, Darren lifted his head, alarm replacing his sincere features. But as some of the pack members grabbed him by the arms, he did not utter a word or resist them as he was taken away.

Aila spun around and faced Damon, whose face was impassive as he scrutinised her. But before he could say anything, Aila suddenly realised something, and she looked to Finn, "Where is Hollie?"

Finn's face darkened, and his head turned in the direction of the parking lot. Aila began walking in that direction, but Finn caught up to her, holding her by the wrist, "Aila, wait. Don't go to the car.."

At his words, she turned around and arched her brows together after seeing the look on his face. She swallowed down the lump forming in her throat; Finn's silence was as deafening as the roaring of her erratic heart. Stilling herself and her breathing, she waited on the words she already knew he would speak.

"I'm so sorry, but Hollie's dead."

She felt like a speeding train had hurtled into her, knocking the air out of her lungs and ripping her heart into pieces. Aila's head felt too heavy for her body, and her limbs unable to function as the world around her spun, and she clutched onto something, anything to keep her upright. That something was Damon. Feeling the safety net of his arms was the last straw, and she let the darkness of her mind consume her. 

Damon immediately caught Aila, her head flopped backwards, and her eyelids fluttered shut. He pushed back her hair from her face and felt the depths of her despair, it was not long ago that he thought his best friend had died, and now, instead, it was Aila's best friend. When Damon mind-linked Finn earlier to come back and finish Darren, he presumed Hollie was safe. He glanced away from Aila's pale face and to Finn, whose brows were arched together in concern at his Luna. 

"How did she die?" He asked in a low growl. 

Darius was pacing at the edges of his mind, pissed off by many things that happened today. One of them now being from Aila's despair. Damon and Darius didn't want to see her in any pain but seeing the distraught on her face before her mind could not take it anymore, to the point of passing out, was hard to see. 

"She was shot in the head and left in the car. I think the hunters killed her," He replied sadly.

"Why the hunters?" Damon asked quietly as he glanced back to his beauty of mate, covered in sweat, dirt and blood. Much like the first time he saw again at the hunter's base camp.

"They don't want humans to know about the creatures any more than we do," Finn replied as he too stared down at Aila. 

Damon narrowed his eyes slightly before leaning down and snaking his arm under Aila's knees, lifting her up, so he cradled her and began walking away with her. Damon didn't like any men staring at her for too long, even if they were friends. He knew it was silly, but he would probably be irrational for a while until he marked her.

"You'd think they'd draw the line somewhere. Hollie was innocent-"

"Aren't we all?" Finn spat in disdain. Damon glanced at him and saw the fire burning behind his eyes. The Alpha was reminded that Finn was the hunters captive for years.

"I know. But Hollie was human," Damon replied lamely before barking orders out through the pack mind-link to clean up the town, get rid of the bodies of their enemies, help the wounded, and gather their dead. He was unsure of how many there were, but it was a weight he had to carry now. If he stayed instead of going to the Alpha's meeting, would it have made a difference? 

He glanced at the destruction of the town, blood smearing the walls and grounds with armed men lying on the floor along with rogues and their own wolves. 

All of this was for his mate. He looked down at her once more and felt pure fury rising in his chest. Lydia wanted her dead and brought the rogues into the town and pack, adding to the chaos of the hunter's attack. Too many were dead by the hands of their enemies. He wanted nothing more than to rip their limbs from their bodies and throw them into a pit of fire. 

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