Chapter 77: Ancestry

[Authors Note: All updated now!]

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Aila's mouth flopped open, but she quickly recovered herself and walked to stand by Damon's side. The painting in front of them showed a couple, her ancestors. The paint and styling of the portrait seemed to be of the classical lighting and use of paints from the medieval era. Aila glanced back down to the plaque that read:

The first Alpha King and Queen of Silver Crescent Pack: 

Alpha Mathias Cross and Luna Amelia Cross.

1549.

There was no doubt that Amelia was her ancestor; they looked identical. Amelia's features were sharp and very pale, even with the dark lighting and dull paints used. What stood out the most, other than her luminous white hair, which was pulled back in a half-up hairstyle, was her eyes. Aila stepped closer to assess them, they were also crystal blue, but there seemed to be another colour in them.

Aila stood on her tiptoes to observe even more. Amelia's eyes had flecks of brown in them. The artist did a brilliant job capturing them and putting so much detail into his craft. So, was that what Gabriel meant? Her eyes were more abnormal than her own. 

She couldn't help but turn her head one way and then the other. The painting also captured a hardness, a coldness to Amelia's striking features, as though the woman was strict or calculative.

"Was this who your vampire friend knew?"

Aila jumped on the spot and stepped away from the painting. Her eyes not leaving the image in front of them. She forgot Damon was in the room with her; she didn't even know-how as the bond felt like a tethered rope wrapped around her stomach and constantly pulling on her to be closer to him. It was an everlasting reminder of who she belonged to, along with her tiny scar that was a partial mark on her collarbone. 

"I think she's the one. Gabriel called me Amelia when we first met.." She replied, her eyes still analysing the painting. 

Amelia wore a dark red dress with long sleeves, almost showing off her fair skin and pale hair more, the small tiara dazzling with blue gems. While by her side, Mathias wore a black tunic and jacket embellished with golden patterns at his sleeves and wore a golden crown on his head of short curly raven hair. His dark blue eyes had minor wrinkles in the corner, showing off his older age to that of Amelia, or they were laughter lines, something she couldn't see Amelia doing with that cold look. 

Aila shuddered after glancing back at Amelia's face.

Damon nodded his head in thought, "How well do you think they knew each other?"

Aila removed her gaze from the painting and turned her head to face Damon, "What do you mean?" 

"Aila, I think your friend is up to something. No one. Especially a pureblood vampire does what he did to 'help you'…"

"Wait.. wait. Hold on," Aila rubbed her temples, the shadows under her eyes growing, "What's a 'pure blood' vampire? Gabriel is a royal? And please, try and explain more.. my head feels like it's about to explode."

Aila knew she was getting cranky and emotional; she felt her eyes stinging because she was frustrated at not understanding something basic and needing Damon to spell everything out for her. Fatigue does that to a person. Malia agreed with her; Aila could feel her wolf's bubbling aggression very near the surface, and there was nothing to be angry with.

Damon raked his hand through his hair, messing it up even more but flicking it back out the way of his face, "Maybe we should go to bed for now. We can speak later.."

"No," Aila replied stubbornly. Damon raised a brow with amusement flashing across his eyes, "tell me now and then we can go to bed."

Damon reached out and pulled her into an embrace, making her stiff posture immediately melt. Her head was against his chest, and she could feel the steady beat of his heart and feel the warmth radiating off him, almost luring her to go to sleep in his arms, there and then. Damon leaned his face into the side of her neck before responding,

"What I mean is.. Gabriel may have been a very close 'friend' of Amelia's. They could have been lovers.."

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Aila pulled back immediately and searched his eyes that reflected back the seriousness behind his statement. Her forehead creased, "But she was mated to the Alpha King.. to," Aila turned her head around and checked his name, "to Mathias Cross."

"They might have been something before Mathias was in the picture. Just how you had boyfriends before me.."

Aila's eyes narrowed, a splurge of paranoia coursed through her, "How do you know I had boyfriends before you?" Although she felt paranoid, she kept her hands on his waist.

"Jeese, Aila. It was a guess.. You're 23.. I didn't expect you not to be with anyone else before me," His voice broke at the end, hurt flashed across his features and left within a blink of an eye.

"I mean.. I could have been single.." Aila began and stopped when she saw him look at her pointedly. She relented and dragged her hand over her face, "Sorry, sorry," she muttered quietly, "but Amelia looks to be the same age as me, maybe even younger? Back then, it was improper to have relations other than with your husband or, in this case.. her mate?"

"I'm sure that didn't stop people, though.." Damon disagreed while playing with the zip on his jacket she wore.

That's true.." Aila sighed, remembering the look of longing in Gabriel's eyes and the pained look he gave her when they first met. Maybe Damon was right. But what would he possibly gain from helping her? Shaking her head, she was happy with the idea that he did it out of friendship. Ignorance was bliss right now.

"What did you mean by a vampire being pureblood?" She asked.

"It's just a term they use for the royals. It means a vampire with pure blood.. Born as a vampire. Not created by turning a human into a vampire.." Damon explained.

"Oh, I see. Okay, I think that's all the exploring I want to do for tonight.. I feel like a walking zombie or something." Aila yawned at the end, covering her mouth with her hand. 

Damon chuckled and lifted her up bridal style.

"Hey," Aila squealed, "I didn't mean you had to carry me.."

"Are you really complaining?" Damon's head lowered, so their faces were close together, making her cheeks flush a rosy hue. Aila also felt slightly flustered; every movement of his sent vibrations through her, and all she could feel was the firm muscles beneath his clothes. That little detail seemed to wake up her body. It was like throwing cold water on her face, except it wasn't water but a flame setting alight in her loins.

"Hmm, if we want to sleep, I suggest you put me down.." Aila bit her lip and looked away from his devilishly handsome features and his dark silver orbs that seemed to penetrate straight through her. The look in his eyes was irresistible, and if she continued looking into them, she would cave into what they both wanted. But their bodies would not handle it, or maybe just hers?

Aila got the sense that he would bang her hard to the point that he would not let her walk for a week. She needed to make sure she had eight hours of sleep, food in her system and water by her side, ready for that pounding. 

Damon chuckled and let her down once they were in the hallway again. Aila skipped ahead, putting a little distance between them with her slightly renewed sexual energy. But she came to an abrupt stop. Another door to the side was padlocked and covered in years of cobwebs, which caught her attention.

"Aila.. you wanted to sleep.."

Her eyes were drawn to the lock. They were literally underground, away from anyone discovering such items unless they had her blood to enter. So what would her parents or ancestors need to hide? From the door's appearance, it looked like nobody had opened the door for ages.

"Aila.." Damon knew that look; he sighed, not even needing to ask her if she wanted to go inside. Instead, he said, "This is the last room we check out before bed." 

He checked his phone, "It's gone 4am. If there wasn't a massacre in the pack last night, we would still get up for training. And there are no excuses allowed."

Aila nodded, but she was excited to see what was behind the door. Damon put his phone away and grabbed a torch from the wall, waving it across the webs, removing them. Aila jumped behind Damon's back after seeing a giant spider crawling away. 

Damon laughed, "Still afraid of spiders, huh?"

Aila was taken back by his question. It was surreal that he knew her when they were kids. Later she would ask more about them growing up. But for now, she wanted to see what was behind the mystery door and then go to bed.

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