Aila watched longingly at Davian, wishing him to stay in the room with her, but orders were orders, and he left carrying the girl she almost killed out through the arched wooden door at the far end. She nearly killed someone because of some messed up cravings she had for human blood now. It made her feel sick, and Aila recoiled when Cassius took a step closer to her. He frowned at her reaction, but she didn’t care; she covered her face with her hands feeling the tears spring to her eyes.

She’d turned into a monster. A monster that ravished two humans, and she didn’t care, even when she felt their life slipping away, she was too absorbed in how great she felt than what was slipping through her fingers. Right now, she was nothing more than a being controlled by her desires, and it disgusted her. She was disgusted with herself.

Aila inhaled sharply after feeling Cassius pull her into his embrace. She stood there stiff, her hands still covering her face as the tears stained her cheeks. She started to tremble, her temper rising, and she snapped. Aila pushed him back by the chest, but he was as hard as a stone and didn’t budge, making her angrier. She started hitting his chest in frustration, uncaring of the pain throbbing in her fists; she continued to beat him, sobbing as her legs collapsed beneath her and she held onto his shirt. 

Cassius kept her from slipping onto the floor, his hands tightening on her back. “I hate you..” She whispered through a sob, “How could you let me do that? How could I..”

She trailed off, her eyes going unfocused from more tears as she stared at her hands clinging onto him. She felt the sting her words caused him and instantly felt bad, which also made her feel crazy and want to rip her hair out. 

Cassius had tensed from her words, and she looked up at him; his eyes were steely, his lips thinned, and he didn’t look at her, though his arms tightened around her back, almost crushing her too tightly against him. With her breath leaving her against the struggle of being in his arms, she managed to speak again. “You can feel the bond, Cass..” She heaved a sigh. “I .. hate myself. I’m just.. pissed off at you.” She cringed even saying the words, but he didn’t seem to be as affected by her anger.

Instead of answering, Cassius lifted her up in his arms and carried her bridal style. Aila yelped and looked at him wide-eyed. “Put me down! I can walk!” She screamed, her eyes tearing up again, but this time for an entirely different reason. Her nose started to sniffle, and she hid her face feeling her mate mark burning and her body tingling at the same time from Cassius’ touch. 

Cassius continued to walk, ignoring her cry. “Put. Me. Down! Or I will make every single fucking second hard living with me. Please..” She pleaded and swallowed past the lump in her throat as the vampire pulled her hands away from her face and peered at her, searching her features. She was acting emotional, her gut was twisting sickly, her heart clenching in pain, and she wanted to curl up in a ball and hideaway.

No, more than anything, she wanted to be with her mate.

Aila raised her eyes to meet Cassius’; they’d softened even though the rest of his face was unreadable, his thoughts hidden, and somehow his feelings were blocked from her. Had he blocked the sire bond just how she could block a mate bond? That wasn’t important right now. Her own emotions were raw right now; she’d never acted so impulsively and now weeping in Cassius’ arms. 

With a sigh, he dropped her legs but kept his arm around her waist until she was standing again. Aila thanked him quietly, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks as she looked away. “I’m sorry.” She blinked back in surprise and looked up at Cassius, who appeared sincere. “I said I would help you, and I am. You may not see the method in my madness yet, and I’m sorry for that, but it will help you in the long run.”

Aila nodded though she felt rather numb as Cassius led her out of the drawing-room. She felt emotionally tired even though her body was brimming with energy from the blood she’d drunk. Both from losing her mind and attacking the humans and from being carried in Cassius’ arms. It hit her then, so suddenly and in a delayed manner that she was so far away from Damon, her mate who carried her in his arms just how Cassius did then. It shocked her to her core; she felt rotten, almost like she was betraying Damon by being carried like that. 

Aila opened the double doors to the room she’d woken up in, its splendour bouncing off on her like a reminder that she did not belong there. 

“Aila..”

She stopped and turned to Cassius. “You will need to feed again soon..” He trailed off as his eyes scrutinised her hardening features. “I’ll feed you this time. It is NOT a request,” He added after she tried to protest. Aila pursed her lips, the fight inside her gone for the day; she looked at him tiredly, waiting for him to continue. Cassius sighed and closed the distance between them, resting his hand on her shoulder and peering down at her. “I am doing this for you. Trust me, PLEASE, Aila. You nearly died, and you barely survived with my blood in your system. You NEED to feed; otherwise, you might as well dig your grave now.”

Aila froze at his words, realising he was deadly serious; she could see the plea in his eyes, making her relent to his wishes. “Do you like me being submissive, Cass?” She asked daringly. So far, her plan to make him believe she was on his side wasn’t going so well, but she needed to remind herself this wasn’t going to be a quick process, and he wouldn’t believe her if she suddenly agreed to everything he said. 

Cassius’ grip on her shoulder tightened. “I like you how you are, Aila. We may have this bond now, but I’m not going to use it against you.. Also..” He released his hand and sat down at the light blue loveseat in front of the bed, patting for her to sit. “It was Damon who begged me to save you.”

Aila sat down rigidly as she processed his words. Cassius meant to use Damon against her, but it didn’t affect her how he might have guessed it would. She remembered her last moments in Damon’s arms and how much it pained her not to see him again or hear his voice. Aila knew if their roles were reversed, she’d do exactly the same. How could she live in a world without Damon?

Cassius snapped his fingers in front of her, and Aila blinked profusely, then looked at him. She’d been staring across the room while her thoughts ran away with her about Damon. 

“Drink now, then you can shower and change into something else. You may have just ruined your only comfortable clothes,” Cassius smirked, his eyes wandering down her blood coated hoody. Aila knew she looked like something out of a horror film; she hoped to be a little more refined in the future when she needed to drink blood.

Aila sighed and shifted in her seat and looked at him expectantly. Cassius smirked again, unbuttoning his waistcoat and then his shirt, removing them and laying them on the bed behind them. Aila’s brows furrowed, and she looked away from his marble, lean body. “What are you doing?” She asked, looking anywhere but at him. He was doing it on purpose; she could feel the delight her reaction caused him. 

Cassius rested his arm behind her on the back of the loveseat. “I do not wish to see my clothes get blood on them. I have expensive taste, you know.” He grinned, then tapped his neck, looking at her expectantly. 

Aila rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist instead, but he swiftly moved his hand, wrapping his arm around her head and pulling her to his bare chest. “Drink from my neck,” He said hoarsely. “Remember what I taught you earlier.”

Aila scoffed and flipped her hair aside as she brought her face closer to his neck. “And if I want to make it hurt?” She asked menacingly, expecting him to order her to do it pleasurably.

“Then make it hurt,” He replied gruffly, his arm releasing her as he started to stroke her hair. “Maybe that’s something I can work with..”

What does he mean by that?

“What is he planning?” Malia whispered, but her following words were lost on Aila because Cassius used her nail to cut a line on his neck; the smell of his blood made her zone in on his neck.

The smell was different to the human’s, but it was much, much sweeter. She lunged at his neck and sunk her teeth into him; Cassius groaned, his hand gripping on the nape of her neck. She wasn’t making it pleasurable for him, but it was because she’d lost all of her senses the moment her tongue tasted him. Cassius’ blood was like heroine; she’d completely lost herself to the high. It could have been minutes or hours, and she wouldn’t know; she clung to him and ravished his neck like she couldn’t get enough. 

But all too quickly, her fangs were pulled out of his skin, and she found her red clouded vision slowly dispersing. She felt dizzy, like she needed more oxygen, and wherever her body was right now felt like it was spinning. 

“Aila.”

Her name called by her master pulled her out of this soundless high. She stared into his eyes and saw her own reflected in his; they widened instantly after seeing her eyes glowing brightly but from red dots in her eyes. She started to move, but Cassius shook his head, “Wait a few minutes, you.. drank quite a bit.” It was then she realised they were on the bed, and Cassius was hovering above her, holding her down. She suddenly became nervous, but his chuckle soothed her. “I’m not a monster, Aila. Go have a shower.”

With those words, he got up and disappeared from her sight. Aila pushed herself up into a seated position, clutching her head as the room span around her. 

What the hell.