When she first met Damon, she felt as though she had met him before…

Aila stood across from Damon in the hidden room below the mansion. The pair watched the other. Aila's face became curious as she stepped closer to him; the bond was tugging at her to go to him also.

"Damon," She whispered.

He stepped towards her, almost breaking her away from the shock of realisation that she knew Damon as a child.

"You and I were childhood friends?" Her voice was low as her eyes flickered across his features.

"Yes, we were."

"W-why didn't you say anything?" She stammered.

Damon took another step towards her, "Some of our memories together are dark, filled with blood, Aila. I didn't want to bring something up that could be a trigger for you. You've been through a lot in a short period of time."

Aila looked to the side, understanding his reasoning, but he could have been another source of comfort when she first re-joined the pack. It may have also sped up the agonising, mate and marking process. Aila sighed to herself. Her memories were still jumbled, with only flickers of images appearing of the pair of them as children. However, she was more confident now that Damon was her childhood friend; his appearance was evident in her mind now.

"I understand," She said tiredly.

"What do you remember?" Damon queried.

"We were running through here from something? You broke into that case and took a shotgun.. That's as much as I can remember.." Aila trailed off. She wished her memories would come back to her already, even in one go. Get it over with, cry if they were that bad, then move on.

Damon nodded his head before raking his hand through his long, tousled locks. He searched her eyes, "We were escaping the mansion from the hunters.."

Aila tilted her head to the side and felt a headache forming.

"It was the night of your parent's murder."

The pounding in her head intensified; she clenched her eyes shut, and clasping the bridge of her nose, willing the pain to die down. She opened her eyes, and her vision flickered as a memory fragment formed before her.

[15 years ago..]

Footsteps pounded across the marble floors, echoing through the halls. Gunshots blasted in the distance, making Aila jump and cower down to the ground, her little hands over her head.

"Come on!" A young boy's voice reached her ears. She looked up to see Damon rushing back to her side and lifting the frightened girl up.

"We need. We need to keep going. Follow Dam Dam," Malia wailed in Aila's mind.

She nodded her head and clung to Dam Dam's hand. More gunshots rang down the halls, but Aila kept up her pace with Dam Dam as they snuck between hallways. He suddenly came to a halt at a corner and yanked her hand back behind him when she continued to go further. Once behind him, he turned and raised a finger to his lips. Aila nodded her head and kept herself against the wall while Dam Dam leaned his head out.

BANG

BANG

Aila jumped at how loud and close the shots were. Her forehead creased, and fear kept radiating through her body; she was shaking. But one look at Damon's calm demeanour pacified her. He would protect her. They would protect each other. They made a pinky promise after all, and no one breaks a pinky promise.

Aila looked down after something shiny caught her attention; It was a silver bullet shell rolling past them.

"Boss thinks they had a kid."

"Do we know what he or she looks like?"

"No."

"Then how the hell are we going to find the mutt?"

"It has white hair, like the wolf queen."

The goons grumbled some more before Aila heard their footsteps running off. A tug at her hand indicated it was safe to leave their hiding spot. They began to run again.

"Don't look down, A. Keep looking at the ceiling!" Dam Dam warned. She pursed her lips and, for once, followed his orders.

The only issue was, Aila couldn't see where she was going. Only relying on Dam Dam, following behind him by his hand. As they passed by some objects on the floor, Aila didn't see the liquid coating the surface and her pink shoe slipped.

Aila's hands flailed out to stop the brunt of the fall. Her knees smacked harshly onto the wet ground, and her hands landed in something warm and sticky. Her doe-like eyes widened even more when she caught sight of the blood her hands and knees were in. She looked to her sides and saw two bodies; the one on her right was one of her bodyguards. He lay there, with holes in his chest, blood seeping out, his glassy eyes looking up.

Aila gasped, inhaling deeply and felt herself about to scream until a hand covered her mouth. Her tearful face looked up into a pair of fierce stormy eyes. Dam Dam.

"That's right, A. Just watch me. You're okay.." He helped her up and, this time, put her on his back. Her arms clung around his neck and hid her face in the back of his hoody, clenching her eyes shut. She felt the vibrations and jarring of her body from where he ran through the halls.

"Dam Dam will save us. We will be out soon.." Malia consoled her, and it seemed like she was reassuring herself. Aila could hear the thickness in her wolf's voice. She, too, had been crying.

"We a-are safe. But mum.."

"I know," Malia interrupted with a hiccup.

"And daaaad…" Aila clenched her eyes shut even more and let the silent tears flow down her face. Soaking the top part of Dam Dam's hoody.

Aila gasped as her vision of the present-day reformed around her. She found herself standing in the mysterious room below the mansion once again. The here and now settled around her; she felt slightly disorientated, going from a little eight year old's height in her mind to her adult height now.

Tears glistened in her crystal blue eyes; she was staring back into Damon's perfectly sculpted features. His eyes were filled with concern, and his huge hands covered her shoulders.

"Aila, are you okay? I've been calling your name.."

Aila searched his eyes and raised her hand, brushing across his stubbled jaw.

"Dam Dam."