HUNTED

The following day, the group prepared themselves for the evening ahead. After much discussion, it was decided the evening would be best to attack the hunters compound. Nobody would be training, and the only people they would need to worry about if their plan went perfectly, were the guards on duty and anyone patrolling inside of the main building. Chase already explained that Silas had his own private quarters no matter which compound he went to; he would never use the barracks provided for the rest of the Hunters Association.

When early evening finally came, the group set off in three separate cars. Finn mentioned the possibility of others like them who had been kidnapped and used to experiment on, and so instead of two vehicles like they planned, they brought an extra. Aila sat in the back seat of the second SUV as they drove along the countryside, their windows tinted for nobody to see. She wore another wig this time, though she expected at some point it would probably be ripped away from her.

She didn't want to wear it, but Damon and Finn insisted, and so now she had long auburn hair that fell past her shoulders and wearing make-up, though there was nothing to be done about her eyes. Now she sat wearing black leggings, a crop top and a zip-up hoodie, one she had no intention of wearing when she was at the compound; it was for after. She looked out the window as the evening wore on and the sky darkened.

Finn was driving, and Damon kept peering back at her, even though he could check through the bond what was wrong. She heard his and Darius constant conversation; they were going through different plans if this one went wrong. Their main priority was her, and Damon couldn't help but stare at her in case they were separated during their mission. Though she could not see that happening, even if he wanted to, the bond would never allow them to be separate in times of a threat to their mate.

Aila refrained from rolling her eyes, he was acting like he wasn't going to see her again, or she would die!

"I really hope you have more faith in me than that," Aila mind-linked him. Damon turned his head back to look at her.

"It's not that I don't think you can take care of yourself. I'm more concerned about you guys entering another compound and facing Silas," Damon replied, reaching his hand out cupping the side of her face. It was true, after the way Ajax reacted to the basement at the packhouse, Damon recognised that this would cause issues in trying to attack the hunters compound. This was why they planned it so that the shapeshifter would help from the sky and only take out the guards at the towers. 

He already raised his concerns about all of them, though in their meeting the previous day, he wanted Aila, Finn and Ajax to stay back. It was sweet, but that left them at a disadvantage of fewer numbers again, and they didn't have time to waste waiting on their pack or asking a more local pack to help. That meant going through the plans again and waiting on their response to help. As Alpha King, Damon could order them to follow his command, but he disliked using that power and preferred the packs to follow him for his leadership.

When Aila has her official ritual to become Alpha Queen, she too will inherit the powers of controlling more than just the Silver Crescent pack, but even then, she too would refrain from using it. She already hated herself for how weak she felt to the power of the Alpha voice; whenever Aila called upon it, she felt amazing, but at the same time, it was morally wrong.  To take away a person's choice and for a pack member to follow their orders, whether they were loyal, was not something Aila wanted to get used to.

Aila dismissed where her thoughts were going. They had not yet discussed the ritual; considering everything that had happened so far, it was not something of top priority right now. She needed to focus on the here and now, currently sitting in a car on a mission to take out the hunters.

She gently touched Damon's hand, cupping her face and leaned into it. "There is no need to worry. I have you and Finn by my side protecting me!" She replied with a smile. Damon smiled back that didn't reach his eyes and was more like a grimace before turning back in his seat and looking out the window.

Though her words were meant to soothe him, she still felt his concern humming through the bond. He knew she was powerful, but they were going to the hunters who kidnapped her, took her blood and had no means of stopping their search and capture of her. Aila leaned forwards and kissed his cheek, startling him slightly, "Everything will be fine," She mind-linked him.

It did not take much longer for them to come across a long road off the main road that led to the compound. As suggested by Chase and from what Ajax had scouted previously, the only guards on duty would be at the guards, the four towers and anyone patrolling inside of the main building. The cars were slowing down, and Aila took that moment to double-check the drawing Ajax so elegantly drew out for them.

She raised her head and looked into the far distance. The compound consisted of two buildings, the main one where Aila presumed experimentation happened and the barracks behind it. It also had training grounds and four towers overlooking the land with two guards per tower with guns.  Now comparing it to the drawing Ajax made, it looked so much more prominent in person. But what could she expect? It was a military base for a secret organisation set on destroying the creatures of the world.