HUNTED

{ You either die a hero.. Or live long enough to see yourself become the villain ~ Harvey Dent, The Dark Knight. }

Aila sucked in a sharp breath and looked at the twin brother Cassius, whose hair was long, going past his shoulders and wearing the same attire as he did earlier when he kissed her. She didn\'t know what to say or how to feel; this vampire pretended to be Gabriel. Why? Why would he do that?

There was a tense and silent atmosphere filled with hostility; Aila presumed the brothers did not get along or maybe recently argued? Gabriel scoffed from behind her. He must have been listening to her thoughts.

"Ugh! Two vampires to deal with who can read minds!" Malia almost shouted in Aila\'s mind, causing her head to pound at this new revelation. 

Aila looked at Cassius suspiciously and instinctively took a step back. Gabriel was the one with her in the hunter\'s compound, not Cassius. So, she automatically felt safer with Gabriel.

Cassius chuckled darkly and took a step forwards. "Don\'t be that way. We\'ve spent more time together than you have with him. And I have certainly done a lot more for you, Aila," He spoke gently to her, and she gazed into his bright blue eyes.

That was right. Cassius had done more for her; she shouldn\'t be frightened of him. He took out thirteen treacherous werewolves, helped her twice with the hunters and helped her escape and return after turning feral for a few days. But he never corrected her when she called him Gabriel.  Why?

Cassius reached his hand out towards her. But this time, she knocked his hand away from her face. His eyes narrowed as he lowered his hand and fisted it by his side.

"But you lied about who you are.. Cassius. You told me not to repeat your name unless it was just us. I presumed you would tell me why when you were ready, but all along, it was because you were pretending to be.. your brother.. I don\'t understand. Why? What is this?!" She raised her voice and wrapped her arms around each other.

She did not know how to feel, her chest and shoulders were tight, and her eyes began to glow from her chaotic emotions. She inhaled deeply to calm herself down along with her racing heart. Her body was now tense both from her rising anger and from her fighting earlier.

Aila was surprised by her own actions. It was spontaneous; there was no need to act so rashly, even if the vampires posed a threat. She was usually calm and composed even in the face of seeing Silas again. Yet, she was approached by an annoying vampire, and she lost it. At the time, a blood-lust haze fell over her eyes and almost consumed her.

Gabriel asked about when she was feral. Was this connected?

Aila bit her tongue, refocusing on what was before her now. A bloody twin brother of Gabriel, that\'s what! Malia was pacing at the fringe of her mind again, the wolf was ready in case Cassius did anything, and this time she was prepared to break through before he used her true name.

Cassius didn\'t reply to her questions, ignoring her and looked at Gabriel expectantly. Aila narrowed her eyes at him; what is Gabriel going to answer for you? Cassius\' lips twitched slightly, and she knew he was still reading her thoughts.

Good. Then you\'ll know how pissed I am. Why are you acting like a snake and not giving me any answers?

"Aila, it would be much safer for you to stay clear of my brother," Gabriel spoke quietly from behind her. His dangerous and chilling aura had been prickling at her back, but she had ignored it. Both vampires were charmingly menacing, yet knowing it was Gabriel behind her calmed her.

However, her heart still felt as though it would burst; she felt.. betrayed. Gabriel\'s caution made sense to her, and she backed away from Cassius, who smiled sadly as Finn and Ajax went to stand in front of her.

Aila couldn\'t tear her eyes away from Cassius, and she watched as his saddened features hardened and his eyes moved away to glare at the vampire behind her. "Were you surprised to see me, brother?" He said crisply as his lips twitched into a smirk.

Gabriel took a sip from his drink and drawled, "At this time, yes. I thought you would make your entrance sooner.."

Cassius\' lips dropped at his brother\'s reply. "A lot of things are starting to add up now. When did you escape?" Gabriel continued as he lowered his drink onto the bar, his gaze never leaving Cassius\'.

"Hmm, I believe it took only ten years until some fool decided to pay the crypt a visit.." Cassius said pensively.

"And it is only now that you decided to show up?" Gabriel tapped his fingers against the bar but halted and clenched the bar\'s edges instead.

Cassius smirked. "I decided to see the world, meet new people, get away from being a royal. Don\'t worry, though, Gabriel, I kept an eye on you. It was quite a shock to hear the gossip from your subjects that you had been missing for a month.. all those years ago.." He put his hands in his pockets and walked towards the elevator before turning back to face him. "Nevertheless, I crushed the rumours and returned to the throne for you. I kept the kingdom afloat like usual. I\'m a good brother like that.."

He tilted his head to the side, "I think I impersonated you well. What do you think, Aila?" He locked eyes with her, and she saw a twinkle in his eyes before they hardened once more.

"Well, it can\'t be that hard acting. You\'re twins," She deadpanned. Cassius cracked a smile and shook his head before gazing at her intently once more.

His voice caressed Aila\'s mind, "I\'ll be your villain, for now, Aila. But everything I have done is for you. And everything I will do is for us. I have brought you to Gabriel, who controls an empire of vampires… Take advantage of that." He smiled softly towards her and spoke aloud, "I\'ll see you soon."

"There is no \'us\'," Malia snapped back, causing the stoic vampire to flinch before a wave of intense anger burned behind his eyes.

Aila parted her lips to reply to him, but he disappeared from sight. Aila and the guys stood still for a tense minute, waiting for Cassius to suddenly reappear again, but he didn\'t. Aila was the first to sag, and without a word, slumped down on the black leather couch; she glanced at Gabriel but looked away, blushing.

"Gabriel.." She whispered, "Can you explain Cassius\' actions?"

It felt strange using both names in the same sentence, but after witnessing the brothers in the same room talking, it couldn\'t really get any weirder. Right?

She swallowed past the lump in her throat and looked at Gabriel once more. This time, she didn\'t look away from his stare and instead scanned his body; they were absolutely 100% identical, she couldn\'t see the difference besides Cassius\' long hair. They still had the same chiselled, lean frame and were an angelic beauty that anyone would marvel at. She met his burning gaze and held it.

All the while, the guys shuffled around nervously. Finn stayed by the elevator guarding it; Chase covered another exit while Ajax casually flopped down on the couch next to her and put an arm over Aila\'s shoulder both protectively and in comfort. She let him bring her into a side hug while she continued to stare at Gabriel.

"Answer her, Gabriel. Otherwise, we are leaving," Finn snapped from the side.

Gabriel sighed and gripped the end of the bar hard, a low cracking sound could be heard, and he instantly released and shot his drink back. He walked to the back of the bar and glided his hands across the bottles until they landed on one, and he poured himself another glass.

"Poison, anyone?" He tilted the tumbler towards the group, but they all shook their heads and waited expectantly. "Too bad. You will need it."

He walked back and to his original spot, looking down at Aila looking like the powerful vampire king that he was. While he stared at Aila, she couldn\'t help but let her eyes wander around the room.

The penthouse/lounge/office, whatever she could call it, was spectacular, crossed between modern and vintage furnishings. It really was something, and Gabriel called it an office!? 

It was like another penthouse apartment, but the main feature was the sleek bar in the middle of the room, with a vintage gold looking backdrop to the bar. There was a barrier of a water feature in the ground following the length of the room next to the floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a lot more to this floor, but she was in no mood to explore it.

Right now, she wanted answers. Her eyes landed back on Gabriel, who had watched her unwaveringly.

"Why did Cassius pretend to be you? What is going on between you?" Aila asked and straightened up out of Ajax\' comforting arm. She was the pack\'s future queen; she shouldn\'t be sniffling on the couch after such an outrageous reveal. "Tell me everything.. Tell me.. about Amelia Cross."

Gabriel looked at his \'poison\' in the tumbler before taking a long sip and flicking some of his white hair away from his eyebrows.

"I owe it to you, Aila. To tell you everything.. Cassius will be making a claim for the throne with you by his side as queen."