That did not make any sense. The hunters wanted to eradicate the werewolves, vampires and shifters, yet use her blood to create their own werewolves.

“That makes no sense. Why would you create your own werewolves when you want to wipe out all of the creatures?!” Aila said

Aila glanced in Chase’s direction again, her own face incredulous at what Silas was saying. She hoped to see that she was not the only sane one in the room. Chase frowned back at her, but he drank his coffee instead of contributing to the conversation.

“They will be under our command. Set loose like hunting dogs but bigger, stronger, faster. Then once every single creature is annihilated, their part is over. We get rid of them too.” Silas clicked his fingers to prove his point.

Aila observed him carefully; he truly believed in what he was saying. She could not tell if there was a hint of madness in his eyes or if he was far too gone, and only determination shone back. He looked and spoke as if genocide was your everyday topic. She glanced back at Chase, who continued to stare out of the window as though the subject did not bother him.

Aila inhaled deeply to calm herself down; her heart was beating far too quickly for the last 10 minutes, and she started to feel a bit dizzy. Taking another sip from her tea, she used the time to calm her chaotic thoughts and put them together. Her mind had been trampled on by a thick book of information that was thrown her way.

First, her parents were killed by their own pack; they were also mass murderers, massacring other packs that did not surrender. Both the werewolves and hunters were after her because she was some sort of badass werewolf. HA. She felt nothing. There was no surge of power like in the films and comic books. Nothing.

And last but certainly not least, this man right here wanted to slaughter all the creatures in the world. Surely, there was a flaw in that plan? There must be thousands of them; it would take decades, no, centuries?

However, Aila kept her thoughts to herself, specifically the part where there were blind spots in his plan. She did not want to help or play any role in this vile scheme. Taking another slow sip from her tea, she relished in the taste and the calming effect it had on her nerves.

Looking up, she saw Silas watching her intently, unnerving her. She took another sip, keeping her gaze locked with his, refusing to look away. His eyes narrowed the slightest, the only indication that he did not like her challenge.

“Oh! Where have my manners been? You should have said something, Aila,” He exclaimed, causing her to frown at his comment.

“Chase, remove her chains! Aila, you look like you are struggling with that cup. We would not want it to slip and burn your skin now. Tsk, tsk.” His overly sweet voice made her unconsciously shiver. Was there a hidden threat in his words?

Chase immediately got up and grabbed her cup, placing it on the coaster above the coffee table; before removing the chains around her wrists, he watched as she grimaced at his light touch. Aila did not forget about the chains around her; there were a constant itch and a slow draining of her energy that came with wearing the silver chains.

Finn was in far worse shape than she was, and so with that thought, she kept her complaints to the back of her mind. And instead, focused on the lunatic of a man across from her.

She tried to read Silas and his motivations. He casually spoke about committing genocide against her kind. Yes, her kind. But then he was making sure she was comfortable, providing her with tea, asking if she needed a toilet, getting the silver chains removed. He was trying to make her comfortable around him, but instead, it only made her warier of him.

Aila glanced at Chase as he began to remove the chains from her ankles. Was he also playing a part in it? Chase was much nicer than the other hunters. Memories from the past week flashed in her mind, reversing the situations; how he switched from being nice to disgust, was that all a lie and in fact, him being nice was the real mask?

She unknowingly let her guard down around him, even though it was her idea in the first place to get HIM comfortable with HER. She sighed at herself and her predicament. Chase glanced up after hearing her sigh.

His eyes met hers from his position at her trainers, his hand resting below the raw skin on her ankle. Aila turned her head away from him, worried that her eyes would give her thoughts away like an open book. She suddenly felt exhausted by her all-consuming emotions.

Once Chase put the chains on the coffee table and was reprimanded instantly by his father, Aila decided to stand up and really look outside the window. Her viewpoint from the sofa only showed the sky, which was why she knew Chase kept avoiding her earlier. Unless there was a fricken dragon or a flying pig, the sky was not really interesting. In fact, this morning, it was bright blue and cloudless.

Aila unconsciously scratched near the marks on her wrists from where the silver chains were while walking the small distance to the window. Her eyes widened, and she nearly gasped at what she could see. Instead, she took a shaky breath in and crossed her arms against her chest.

Before her eyes, she could see something close to a military base camp, but a lot smaller. There were assault courses with climbing frames that people were racing across, a track and field, an area where men and women practised shooting their weapons. They ranged from M9 pistols, AK47’s to crossbows and fancy looking bow and arrows. Closer to the building, there was a courtyard where more hench looking people practised hand-to-hand combat.

“Isn’t it beautiful?”

Aila jumped at the sound of Silas’s voice; his large form now stood next to her. She did not see him sneak up on her. Her heart was erratically beating once again from the fright. Dammit, when would she get these extraordinary hearing skills the others had? That way, she wouldn’t be in situations like this.

“It is something alright.”

Silas chuckled at her dry response.

“This is our main basecamp, but we have many others across the country.”

Aila nodded her head but was observing the hand-to-hand combat. Everything about this place, about the hunter’s operation, showed how organised and skilled they were. She never had a chance if she got caught trying to escape.

Her eyes looked further back to a fence with barbed wire at the top; her gaze followed it around the little arena in front of her, showing the occasional CCTV camera and guards holding assault rifles. She sighed, her escape plans slowly diminishing before her eyes, her heart sank, and tears filled her eyes. But she blinked them back, unwilling for Silas to see them.

A whirlwind of emotions fought to climb to the surface, anger, denial and sorrow, but Aila kept her face composed. They stood in silence for a while, watching a fight between two oversized hunters, ending with one being knocked out cold, blood seeping from his nose. Aila walked away from the scene; her eyes landed on the crossbow on the bookshelf. After what she had just seen, she was not about to do anything impulsive or stupid.

“Are you not worried that I will wolf out and attack you?” She queried, turning around to face the father, son duo.

Silas chucked,

“From what Connor has told me. There is not much of a wolf in you but-“

“So, that goes against everything you have just said. I am meant to be this all-powerful werewolf. Yet, I have not shifted. I do not have super hearing or heightened senses. I am barely a werewolf at all.” Aila interrupted.

His lips twitched in amusement,

“We have all the time now to do some tests on you. Robert will figure you out. You ARE a werewolf, and you are definitely THE werewolf we have been looking for. There is just the small complication that something is blocking your wolf.”

Blocking my wolf?

“Come”

He gestured for her to follow him out of the room. Excitement swelled up inside her as she saw the open door, no silver chains on her, a small moment of freedom.

“He’s not very patient”, Chase muttered from behind her.

That feeling of freedom vanished at the sound of his voice, pulling her back to reality. Chase put his hand on her arm gently but waited for her to move instead of hurting her. Leaving the room, Silas was only across the hallway in front of another door. Aila tensed; she gulped down her trepidation as her heart started to thump quickly and harshly against her chest.

Was she going to be experimented on now?

A little nudge from Chase snapped her out of her daze. She did not realise she stopped walking in the hall. Once she was standing behind Silas, he opened the door and stepped inside. Aila’s eyes widened and flickered from each item in the room as she followed behind him.

She was standing in a large, stylish bedroom. A queen-size bed was placed on one side with fluffy cushions on top of pillows; the bed’s enormity showed off the bedroom’s spaciousness. There was a white wardrobe, a TV, a white vanity table, and to the right side of the room, there was a white door.

After seeing Aila’s eyes wander to the door, Silas walked to and opened it, revealing a stylish ensuite bathroom.

“Why is there a fancy bedroom in a derelict building?” Aila asked, her eyes not moving from the bathroom.

Silas chuckled, “I want you to be comfortable here, Aila.”

Aila wandered over to the full-length window at the far end of the room. The view showed an abandoned parking lot and across from it was a guarded entrance where the fence met. Guards stood with their assault rifles, wearing military clothing. Further back, there was a vast number of trees going as far as the eye can see, concealing the building and the countless hunters training on the grounds. Hiding its secrets from the rest of the ordinary world.

“What do you mean, comfortable?”

Aila was not really listening or putting two and two together; her responses were automatic at this point. She was too focused on what the window was showing her than the meaning behind the boss’s words. Plus, a lot of information had been dumped on her; she felt as though her brain was about to fry.

“This is your room, Aila. If you would like?”

Aila finally turned around to face her kidnapper; her eyes were round as the shock of his words sunk in.

“M-my room?” She stuttered.

She felt as though the walls were closing in on her. This room seemed more daunting than being in a cell in the damp basement. The small comforts the room screamed of made her feel more like a confined bird in a cage. If she was to stay in such a room, would she become content with her situation?

Aila eyed Silas’s fake kind smile, for that is what it was, fake; she was a werewolf, the very thing he despised. A shiver went down her spine. He was trying to make her so comfortable that she would stop looking for ways to escape and eventually develop some type of Stockholm syndrome towards them. But if anything, it caused the opposite effect. It made her miss her home more.

“Yes, your room. You wouldn’t have to stay in that awful cell. You could have a shower whenever you liked, watch TV, order food, eat pizza! And Chase would be your personal guard. You would not have to see Connor again..”

The thought of pizza, a shower and not dealing with Connor nearly made her cave in. Unlike the others, she was still yet to shower. Maybe that was a part of their plan? Ajax told her they showered twice a week, but Aila was left to rot in the cell; she felt disgusting. Shaking her head, she asked,

“Why not leave me in the cell like the others?”

“Personally, Aila, I want your full cooperation. It would be in both of our best interests if you stayed in here and obediently went to see Robert when called upon. After all, we will need to keep taking your blood over the years. There are a lot of creatures, as I said before and removing them will not happen overnight.” Silas smirked at her as though he read her thoughts.

The colour drained from her face.

Years. She would be here for years.

“And if I chose not to cooperate?” She barely uttered the words.

“Well, you have seen how Connor can be.” A cruel smile formed on his lips.