HUNTED

"Your birth parents. They were killed by other werewolves."

Aila only stared back at the man behind the desk, his words sinking in slowly. Moving her eyes away from his, she looked to the window next to the couch; her parents died when she was eight and Mandy and Andy, her godparents, immediately took her in. They adored her, and she them. Her chest tightened as she thought about them and what they must be going through right now.

Yet, it was not that outlandish to hear that werewolves killed her parents.

After all, she was now a part of this world full of creatures. So it was not much of a shock to her. The police report stated their bodies were never found, but the evidence left behind indicated an animal attack.

"The animal attack was really werewolves.." She muttered to herself, not realising she spoke out loud.

"Yes. The police found claw marks and their blood everywhere, leaving no other traces of them." Silas confirmed her muttering.

Aila frowned then looked back at Silas,

"By OTHER werewolves. I take it my parents were werewolves?"

Silas looked at her with a perplexed expression on his face.

"You did not know?" His eyes narrowed. She could see the gears turning behind his eyes as he thought.

"I kind of guessed in the week that I have been here. Before you guys kidnapped me, I had no idea I was even a werewolf. So, thank you for that."

Aila glanced away from his intense stare, although she still felt his eyes on her face even from across the room. Her eyes flickered to Chase, who seemed to have gone paler in the small amount of time she last looked at him. He fixed his gaze ahead, not glancing in her direction again while he also looked deep in thought.

"Why would other werewolves kill them? Are they not pack animals?" Aila doubted.

"They are. But werewolves are known to turn on one another, especially if there is a weaker wolf. Different packs also clash if there is no alliance between them, then they do not hesitate in killing a wolf that goes onto their territory. Rogues, however, are at the bottom of the food chain in the werewolf world. They are not a part of any pack and tend to move a lot due to their chances of survival if they stay too long near a pack\'s territory." Silas explained.

"But my parents must have been on their pack\'s territory. We lived there for as long as I can remember. We did not move once, so we could not have been rogues. Or killed for being on another pack\'s territory." Aila said.

There was something about Silas\'s statement that did not add up to her. Why would other werewolves kill her parents? Their house was in the middle of nowhere, from what she remembered.

"We could not have been rogues.." She continued.

"You are most certainly not a rogue", Silas scoffed; even Chase made a small chuckle.

Aila waited for him to resume, but the door gently swung open as an older lady with greying hair and a kind face arrived carrying a tray with their drinks. The lady immediately placed the first coffee on a coaster in front of Silas, smiling at him as he thanked her. Then she turned around to make her way to the coffee table.

"Rogues are more animal than human. They rely on their senses more as a wolf and tend to stay in their wolf form 98% of the time. They are bloodthirsty and will kill humans to survive. They cannot be reasoned with." Chase spoke as he looked out the window, not meeting her gaze.

Aila then felt another pair of eyes burning holes into her face. She looked up to see that the kind lady was looking at her in disgust; a look of pure hatred burned behind her brown eyes. It seems looks really were deceiving. Aila presumed that she would act just as nice to her as she did to Silas and Chase because she was an older, kinder looking lady.

But just like the hunters, the lady seemed to hate anything that was not entirely human. It was such a shame to see people with that mindset. To be filled with so much hate, it blinded them. This lady did not know anything about her, but she immediately gave her the evil eye because she most likely knew she was a werewolf.

Well, suck on that, witch!

Aila internally sent her the middle finger while she held her gaze unblinkingly, letting her anger simmer beneath the surface of her eyes. The lady\'s mouth fell open, and she immediately left. Picking up her cup, she couldn\'t help but feel a little smug. A snicker across from her caught her attention; Chase was hiding it behind his own cup. Was her look that harsh?

"Please try not to frighten my staff. Especially Milly, the poor old gal, she has worked here for years." Silas upbraided her.

"Frighten?" Aila muttered to herself before eyeing her tea and taking a tentative sip. She has never frightened anyone before by a look; that woman was too sensitive. Don\'t give out evil stares and shrink back when one is returned back at you then!

"Your eyes glowed", Chase spoke quietly, looking over the cup he took a sip from.

Aila\'s eyes widened in shock. They glowed? They never have before!?

What made her change in the last week that she was now growling and her eyes were glowing when she was angry? Did they go an amber colour like Finn\'s? Before she could ask, her thoughts were interrupted by Silas,

"Chase. You forgot that there are two types of rogues. But the latter is not important. Maybe you should be studying more about the creatures on this earth and the history of the Hunters Association, YOUR heritage, than going to University every day and getting a degree that you will not use."

Chase openly rolled his eyes, his back still facing his father. He looked back out the window, though, sipping his coffee after Aila caught his little act. She continued to stare at him, though.

Was this lifestyle forced on him? She kept getting mixed signals from him throughout the week. She presumed she was just getting attached to how normal he treated her at times; she was delighted by the kindness in his eyes then. But then he would shut her out, his eyes going cold again and a look of disgust masking his features.

However, even with the hard look, he would give her, he always treated her gently. He stopped shoving and grabbing her roughly; she even heard him occasionally whistle outside the toilets. She shook her head to rid her thoughts about him. This was not the time to delve into the psyche of Chase.

Getting back to their original conversation, Aila asked again,

"I still do not understand. Why would werewolves kill my parents?"

"I ask myself that question all the time. It is an animal thing. A pack will kill their kind if the alpha and luna are too strong or too weak. I suppose you have to be on that middle ground." Silas chuckled.

But Aila was still confused; what he said did not make sense. Surely the stronger an alpha is, the stronger the pack?

"With your parents, it was a different case", He continued. Aila stared at him, waiting for him to continue.

For most of her life, she questioned the death of her parents. Animals killed them, the police report said, which made her question how they were in the house in the first place and then leaving no traces of them except for their blood. But now, in front of her, she was finally getting some answers.

Werewolves did it, but why would they kill their own?

Did her parents do something that warranted their death?

"It was not just your parents they were after.."

Aila felt like throwing one of his stupid books from his stupid bookcase at him. It was like he was enjoying her squirm from his vague answers. What the hell were they after that justifies killing them?

"What was so important they killed for it?"

"You."

His answer made her stop breathing. Was she the cause of her parent\'s deaths? Her chest tightened, but instead of sadness, she felt rage.

"What do you mean? Me? Stop with the vague answers and give me what I need to know!" She knew her eyes were glowing this time; her emotions were becoming raw.

Silas stood up and faced away from her. Clasping his hands behind his back again, he looked out the window behind his desk.

"Your parents were leaders of the Silver Crescent Pack, or in wolf terms: Alpha and Luna. They were the strongest pack known, but your parents started to become bloodthirsty, almost roguelike. They wanted more and more territories, killing hundreds that stood in their way. The pack became enormous, with the packs that surrendered and were forced to join them. Which, of course, is where they went wrong." He lifted his hand and pointed his finger as he spoke in a matter-of-fact way.

"Your parents were surrounded by their enemies. But their arrogance knew no bounds; they did not think they would turn on them. Which is how they were easily killed. Now. You come into the picture because, well, you are their child. You would take their responsibility once you were of age, so naturally, they wanted to kill you too. Once your parents died, their strength immediately passed onto you. Meaning, you are a powerful werewolf from a strong bloodline of alphas."

Aila\'s head was spinning with all the information she was just given. Her parents killed hundreds, over pack territories. Her frown deepened between her eyes; from what she remembered, her memories of them were always fond.

Her mother, who she knew she almost looked like now, always seemed to be kind and gentle. Her father was strict, but she never saw any malice or evil in him. But how would she know? She was an 8-year-old child; she may have seen what they wanted her to see.

But could she trust what this man said? No. She did not. Her adopted parents, Mandy and Andy, never told her about this story. Her kidnapper was the one telling her about her parents. She did not know what to believe, but she would be interrogating her adopted parents if she escaped from this place.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped back to the figure standing in front of the window. The hunters kidnapped her because she was important, but what the hell did they want?

"So, what do you need me for? How does this little story you tell me benefit you?" Her voice came out cold, her eyes hardened.

Silas laughed heartily,

"Story? That was no bedtime story. Those were facts. And unfortunately, darling, they are facts about your parents. I am sorry you had mass murderers as parents, but at least you did not grow up becoming like them."

Aila still did not know what to believe, but every word coming out of his mouth now infuriated her.

"Go on." She said through clenched teeth.

"We need your blood, Aila. As I explained, you come from a strong bloodline of alphas. After your parents died, we tried getting the strongest werewolves we could to get our hands onto, but it was no use. Robert deduced it down to genetics. For years we experimented, but nothing worked. One day, my team was tracking a pack of werewolves and came across you. A girl who looked exactly the same as Alexandra, your mother. It really is uncanny." Silas turned now, looking her up and down.

Aila stared back at him as her features slowly turned to one of puzzlement.

"What do you need my blood for?"

Silas looked at her incredulously, tilting his head to the side.

"To make our own werewolves, of course. The battle between our kinds has been ongoing for centuries, and quite frankly, it is getting a bit boring. Our aim has always been to eliminate all the werewolves, vampires and shifters. But there is not enough of us. The population of the creatures is increasing, and we cannot keep up."

Their response to the creatures was to commit genocide.