[ Damon ]

Aila's howl ripped through his heart, and his legs buckled to the ground. The black wolf breathed heavily on the grass in front of the mansion. Damon couldn't hear her thoughts, but he didn't need to; he knew Aila well. She was leading the hunters away from the pack.

She was saving them from more slaughter, and until there was a solution, he knew his mate would not return. Damon knew because if the roles were reversed, he would do the same. But, he felt useless, he was meant to protect her, and he failed; he was the fucking Alpha King, and he couldn't even stop his mate from getting stabbed.

Damon knew she blocked their bond, but she lost control of it, and he woke up from his unconscious state to a sharp pain in his back. It took him less than a second to realise it was Aila's pain. Instantly he shot out of bed and barely made it off the balcony before Chiara, Kane, and Nairi stopped him from going further. Even now, the leaders and ten of his warriors blocked him from going after her.

He was furious. They were stopping him from going to his mate, their Luna! Damon wasn't thinking properly in his enraged state and started attacking his men, but Kane and Chiara got a jump on him and kept him on the ground, with five others tumbling on top. He wanted to bark orders, use his Alpha's voice, but he was too weak to order them out of his way.

After some time, they removed themselves from him; he had calmed down. His strength gave away but not before he let out an ear-shattering howl. Now he stared at the forest as his mark burned from the distance, increasing between them. He continued to stare while Darius paced along the edges of his mind, wanting to break free, but they both knew Aila was doing the best she could.

He just wanted to be with her. He glanced back at Chiara, who stayed in front of him while Kane laid on the ground, it was then he noticed his Beta was injured too, and he knew after scanning his pack that there were a lot of injuries and more dead. He needed to see to his pack.

"Alpha.."

Chiara's voice was slurring, and Damon watched her in slow motion before the dark spots on the outer edges of his eyesight began to increase until there was nothing else but darkness. He woke up in his bedroom, the shadows from the moon already showing it was evening. Damon didn't waste any time, pulling the covers back and sitting on the edge of his bed. He couldn't feel anything, there was no pain nor the pain he felt through the bond earlier.

Aila had blocked him again. He felt his temper rise, and he marched towards the bathroom door and punched it. The wood shattered, and the door broke in two before ripping away from the hinges.

"Damon!"

He turned around and saw his Beta approaching him slowly like he was a feral animal. Maybe he was? It wasn't safe for anyone near him now, which was why his best friend was approaching him cautiously. He knew how it felt to be away from an injured mate, but an Alpha without his Luna nearby meant he would lose his shit at anything. Already he was pissed off that his Beta was babysitting him.

Darius growled through him, but Damon pushed him back and walked into the bathroom; the lights automatically came on. He had to keep his wolf under control on top of himself, not losing control. It was going to be a losing battle. He turned the tap in the sink on and splashed cold water on his face in an attempt to cool down his temperature and the shaking temper boiling underneath his skin.

Damon stared at himself in the mirror. He was naked and could see the three scars on his chest from where he was shot. They were already healed, and he knew by the next day, the scar would be gone. He chuckled to himself as he stared at them; Aila managed to remove them with her claws. She really was magnificent; he never doubted her though, he knew what a great vet she would be.

He had watched her over the years. At first, he left her to her mundane life; his father, who was Alpha of Silver Crescent until he was of age, sent warriors to protect her from a distance. They never complained of keeping watch over her, she was their future Luna, and there were only a few aware that she was still alive. When he finally became Alpha, he was too busy making a name for himself, taking over packs with poor leaders who were taking them down dangerous roads.

But Damon never forgot about her; he kept his distance and only listened to reports from his men who guarded her. His wolf constantly asked him to see her at least once, just to check to see if she was his mate. Darius had a strong feeling that she was, but Damon disregarded it. He spoke to Mandy and Andy at least twice a year about her, and when they would tell her about her past, it was their answer that kept him away.

But fate or the Moon Goddess had other ideas, and one day he bumped into her. He was in Oakton on official business. A couple of type one rogues had been running through the territory and causing havoc on the humans. He should have known immediately that she was nearby because Darius had begun pacing his mind uncontrollably, almost to the point of ripping through and taking the reins.

There was a scent so strong that it lured him around the corner, and he bumped into Aila and her friends who were leaving her parent's bookstore. They stared at each other, and Damon was dumbfounded. She had grown into a stunning young woman, and he knew straight away from her eyes and hair that it was her. Not to mention Darius was whining in his mind; he couldn't sense her wolf.

Damon had frowned at her after hearing Darius complain; she must have thought he was rude. She muttered an apology and looked away quickly with a blush. Damon turned around and watched as she climbed into a car where her boyfriend at the time was waiting for her. He was unsure on whether Aila was his mate, but the moment he saw another man kiss her, Darius ripped through his body, and he shifted on the spot.

Damon barely yanked the reins back and sprinted off to the woods before Aila turned and could see him. He knew then that she had to be his mate; his whole body had been shaking from seeing them together. After that day, he became obsessed with her. He took time out of his duties just to make sure she was safe. Her asshole of a boyfriend for two years was just that, an asshole.

He was an arrogant athlete who was selfish and hardly ever picked her up from her nighttime shifts at work. On occasions, Damon had watched from the shadows and saw Aila waiting for the boy that never showed. But although he was disgusted at their relationship, he could also see that she wasn't as invested in the relationship as him.

Over time he watched as she started to distance herself from him and became engrossed in her work. They broke up, and she never shed a tear. He could see she was sad but from the loss of his friendship more than anything. Damon, however, was over the moon, and his wolf relaxed more. Seeing Aila with someone else made Darius go bloodthirsty on his kills.

The night Aila went for a run was the night Damon had watched her from the vets and left her thinking she was going to bed. He met up with some of his pack after hearing their call about the hunters coming to his estate. But just as he barked orders for his warriors to protect Aila's house, he watched as she went for a run. Without thinking, he followed her and stayed vigilant, but not sharp enough. She caught sight of him in the trees and sprinted into the woods, right when his warriors told him there were hunters there.

"Damon, are you okay?" Kane's voice ripped him out of his reverie, and he realised he was still in the bathroom, naked, and feeling a burning ache in his chest from the absence of his mate.

"Fine," He snapped, "make sure the injured are seen to. I'm going to have a shower."

Damon didn't look at his Beta to know he had left on his command. After his shower, he sat down on the balcony and stared up at the moon. Damon didn't know how long he sat there for; he felt lost without Aila and let his feelings consume him for a while. He could be Alpha of the pack tomorrow. For now, he was just Damon Steel aching to see his beloved.

He fell asleep in his chair, but something woke him again, and he instantly jumped up. The morning light beamed through parts of the estate, awakening the animals to the coming day. Something was wrong. The bond pulled at him, and all at once, he felt Aila. No, he felt Malia.

The bond started to feel dark, feral, animalistic. He tried to prod at it, but something yanked him out, and he suddenly couldn't feel her. Darius growled.

"What's happening?" Damon snapped at his wolf. Panic began to surge through his veins. What was wrong with his mate. He kept trying to feel for the bond, but he couldn't 'enter' it. It was different from when Aila blocked him.

"Malia's taken over, Damon. She's losing herself."

"She's going feral."