Damon reached his hand out for Aila to take, their fingers interlaced, and he pulled her down to sit on top of his lap sideways. With one hand now around her waist and the other caressing Aila's lips, as she stroked his face.

"If you do that every time I get stressed or pissed off, we will never leave this room," He smirked.

Aila nipped at his thumb and looked at him with a mischievous glint to her eyes, "I wouldn't mind if you don't."

Damon growled in return, his eyes illuminating again before his growl drowned out into a groan, and he leaned his head into her chest. "If I'd known you'd be such a little minx, I would have taken you weeks ago!" He spoke into her breasts, with one hand now cupping one tenderly. Aila gasped at his hand, already feeling the heat pooling in between her legs by his single touch.

She chuckled breathlessly. "Well, we have the rest of our lives to make up for it," She purred, waiting for Damon to claim her lips or take her. But his head nor hand moved from their position; Aila tilted her head, "Are you alright down there?"

Damon nodded his head; his tousled hair tickled her skin, making her giggle. "I am trying to calm down. Some urgent pack matters have come up, angel. I'm sorry," He whispered into her breasts.

At his words, Aila tensed before letting her fingers slide through his raven locks. "What's happened?" She whispered gravely. They knew their time would be brief, but the seconds and hours all went by too quickly before they had to go back to the chaos that was left.

Damon tilted his head up, letting both arms wrap around her now and somehow pulling her body closer to his. His silver orbs stared up at her intently, and she found herself almost being solely absorbed in them as her worries and apprehension began to fade away. "Some children have gone missing. I need to speak to the parent's tell them what we have found," His voice was gentle, but his eyes were hard as concern etched onto his face. She could already see how much he was affected by it.

Aila couldn't believe that they were dealing with a matter such as missing children. She hoped they would find them, or nothing terrible had happened to the children. But Aila sensed through the bond and from her own gut feeling that this would not end well. Yet, she pushed her own trepidation down, not letting it consume her and focusing on what she could do.

Aila leaned forward and caressed Damon's cheek as she kissed the other before staring intently at him, "You mean WE will go speak to the parents. I'm your partner now comrade, there's no getting rid of me," She winked and felt relieved when she sensed his rising apprehension dwindle from her words.

Damon cracked a smile. "Oh, I have no intention of getting rid of you," He replied with a low growl before shifting and picking her up as he stood. Then, with her cradled against his chest, he walked towards the bathroom. "Let's go cool off in the shower, then get ready." His tone was serious, but his eyes were lit with amusement.

As soon as they were in the shower, Aila was pressed against the glass, Damon's lips hungrily on hers while she clasped at his hair and moaned as the water sprayed down on them. Then without any warning, she felt the head of his length slip inside her core, filling her. With a moan leaving her lips, her eyes locked on his heated gaze, she spoke against his lips, "This is cooling down?!" Without answering, he thrust into her.

Thirty minutes later, the pair were facing the mirror brushing their teeth with towels wrapped around them. Aila glanced at Damon in the mirror, immediately blushing before they both burst out laughing. Damon was the first to leave the bathroom, letting the door shut behind him, and Aila soon heard the scraping sounds and movement of furniture.

She leant over the sink and spat before looking back into the mirror and finding that her skin seemed to glow. It wasn't a noticeable glow, but anyone who hadn't heard them during the last 24 hours would probably tell that she had quite the night. Biting her lip, she felt a giggle rising up her throat; she had never felt like this after a night under the sheets!

"Duuuuuh! You are mating with the one you're meant to be with!" Malia replied in a low, hoarse voice. It seemed her wolf was a little out of sorts since their time spent in the shower. Aila's eyes crinkled as she stared at herself in amusement, looking at her reflection as though she was responding to her wolf. Her eyes glimmered for a moment before they swirled and went back to normal.

A blush formed on her cheeks, and she splashed her face with cold water, willing herself to calm down. However, she couldn't stop smiling. Aila and Damon felt complete now, sighing dreamily; she followed through to the bedroom.

After getting ready, Aila followed behind Damon out of their bedroom door. Both were wearing black; it seemed they were in sync in clothing as well now. She internally rolled her eyes but smiled at the same time.

Aila, for once, went with something a bit more stylish than her leggings and hoodie. She knew Nairi would be pleased with her outfit choice, if not for the colour. Wearing her skinny jeans, a cami top with lace at the edges, along with some black heeled boots as she carried a leather jacket for outside.

Damon glanced down at her, his eyes drifted to her bare collarbone, and he beamed after seeing the mark. He stopped in his tracks and let his thumb glide across it before he caressed her face with the same thumb and leant down to kiss her sweetly on the lips. Aila smiled against them, resisting the urge to wrap her arms around Damon's neck and-

"Seriously? Haven't you had enough of each other?"

The pair broke their lips apart and turned their heads to see Ajax standing across from them, arms crossed against his chest, a smirk on his face. Aila hid her face in Damon's chest as he narrowed his eyes at the shapeshifter. "Were you lurking near our bedroom?" There was a slight edge to his tone, making the hall go quiet.

"What!? No, this was just coincidence, honestly," Ajax held his hands up, his green cat eyes wide with a look of innocence on his face. Aila pulled herself away from Damon to look at her friend as her eyebrow arched up at his words.

Damon burst into laughter, catching both Aila and Ajax off guard. They looked at him in shock. "I know, I'm just fucking with you. Come on, we should eat before we head out," Damon grinned as he snaked his arm around Aila's shoulders. They walked past a stunned Ajax; Aila turned her head to look at him, her face matching his as she shook her head after he mouthed the words' what's happening?'

All three of them descended the stairs, set on going to the kitchen.

"Damon, if I'd known you'd be so chill with me, I would have urged Aila to sleep with you sooner!" Ajax sang from behind. Aila immediately cringed and facepalmed her head as she felt Damon's arm unwrap from her shoulders and immediately heard some scuffling noises.

Turning around, Aila saw Damon holding Ajax by his shirt against the wall, his feet dangling from the ground. Ajax was grinning broadly with his hands out in surrender, while her man glared at him with a growl vibrating through his chest. For once, Aila didn't seem concerned for her friend and instead just looked at her mate's sculped back under his nearly skin-tight black t-shirt.

Hmm, maybe I should buy him some other shirts that won't attract attention from other females. He looks too damn good with a simple t-shirt on.

While her thoughts were thinking of Damon's wardrobe, Malia, on the other hand, was drooling at how hot he was. Aila internally rolled her eyes at her wolf. Ajax suddenly dropped to the floor, and Damon turned his head to look at Aila, his eyes lighting up in amusement.

Wait, no!

He smirked in response to her thoughts.

Ajax patted his shirt down. "I'm fine, by the way, Aila! Thanks for coming to my rescue!"

Aila's eyes were still on Damon as she replied, "You're a big boy, Ajax."

Ajax opened his mouth to make a funny remark, but without any words said, the Alpha and Luna glared at him, already sensing what he would say. Ajax sheepishly grinned and ducked out of the way from the Alpha before bolting down the hallway. "I thought your temper would be better, Damon!" He screeched as he rounded the corner with a laugh.

"I'm gonna kill him one of these days," Damon muttered before his eyes glanced back to Aila.

With his gaze back on her, she immediately felt her cheeks burn, reminding her of the embarrassing thoughts she had moments ago. She turned and began walking in the same direction as Ajax, keeping her gaze set ahead of her. Damon followed behind her with a chuckle.

The pair sat at the small table near the window in the luxurious kitchen. Aila felt strange that she wasn't sitting at the island with all the food laid out at her fingertips for once. She also found it odd that she was casually sitting and eating her breakfast with Damon. He was usually off doing his duties or training.

Aila inhaled sharply as realisation dawned on her. The blissful bubble that had been surrounding her and Damon after sex in the shower had now burst, and reality hit her like a slap to the face. She scolded herself for being so happy.

The pack had just been through something so tragic, and here she was, relaxing in her blissful bubble. Her brows drew together as she sipped from her cup of tea, her mind swirling with her overwhelming thoughts that the pack's deaths were on her. The hunters were after her. They lured her out with Hollie; not only was she dead, but many other lives were taken. It was her fault.

Aila turned her head suddenly and looked at Damon. His hand had reached out under the table and covered hers, squeezing her fingers gently before leaning forwards and softly kissing the side of her head.

"It isn't your fault, and you are allowed to smile," He whispered into her ear, "We should enjoy every precious moment as it comes." He pulled back and used his finger to tilt her chin up, so she looked into his eyes, "I love seeing you smile, Aila. So, please, smile more."